A rod-shaped object, bearing fire, used for illumination. Usually the end is soaked or wrapped in flammable material like pitch or oil-soaked rags to act as the fuel source, though some wooden torches are depicted as burning the wood itself (a difficult and bad idea in real life). English speakers outside of North America use this word to mean a flashlight. Please use that tag instead of this one for electric, handheld lights to avoid ambiguity.