A torch is a stick with one end wrapped in cloth soaked in oil or wax that burns to provide light. Before electricity, people carried torches through dark castles, caves, and streets at night. The flame flickers and dances as you walk, casting moving shadows on the walls. You've probably seen torches in movies about medieval times or ancient Rome, where they light dim hallways or mark the entrance to important buildings.

The Olympic torch is perhaps the most famous torch today. Every four years, runners carry the Olympic flame in a relay across countries, passing the torch from one person to the next until it reaches the Olympic stadium. This tradition connects modern athletes to the ancient Greek games held thousands of years ago.

In Britain and some other countries, people call a flashlight a torch. When a British person says they need a torch to check the attic, they mean a battery-powered flashlight, not a flaming stick.

The phrase to carry the torch means to continue someone else's work or to keep an important cause alive. When a retiring teacher's former student becomes a teacher, they're carrying the torch of education forward.