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# trigger

«trigger» in Mova's school dictionary: **the small lever on a gun or tool that you pull to make it…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a trigger, triggers); verb (trigger, triggers, triggered, triggering)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A trigger is the small lever on a gun or tool that you pull to make it work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#m1)

2) To trigger something means to make it start or happen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#m2)

3) A trigger is something that causes a reaction, such as a thing that sets off an alarm, an allergy or a strong feeling. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science and safety it means cause: smoke triggers a smoke alarm; pollen can trigger asthma; a lot of rain can trigger a landslide. In everyday talk it is a cause of an action. With toys and tools, a trigger is the part you squeeze, as on a water pistol or spray bottle. Safety: never touch a real gun; tell an adult. Phrases: «pull the trigger», «trigger an alarm», «set off», «asthma triggers».

### examples

- Burnt toast triggered the smoke alarm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x1)
- Dust can trigger my sister's asthma. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x2)
- Squeeze the trigger on the spray bottle to water the plants. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x3)
- The heavy rain triggered a flood. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x4)
- The water pistol has a bright orange trigger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x5)
- Opening the door triggers the doorbell chime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x6)
- Cold air is one of his asthma triggers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x7)
- If you ever find a real gun, don't touch it and tell an adult. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x8)
- It began to dig up another tree, when he pulled the trigger and--bang! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/#x9)

### note

Countable noun; regular verb: triggered, triggering (double g in all forms, single r at the end). «Trigger» as a verb is close to «cause» or «set off». A trigger starts something; it is not always the only cause.

### In the corpora

- [A Venus flytrap shuts in a fraction of a second when two trigger hairs inside the trap are touched within about 20 seconds.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/254-plants-deeper-carnivorous-plants-that-count-slip-and-suck/6/)
- [Animal allergies can trigger asthma attacks that make breathing very hard; a child with asthma uses his inhaler and tells an adult.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/67-allergies-horses-and-farm-animals/22/)
- [Colds and other viral infections are the most common trigger of asthma attacks in children.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/14-asthma-and-inhalers/16/)
- [Colds often trigger asthma, so a child with asthma and a cold keeps the reliever inhaler close and tells the coach.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/60-ill-on-match-day-play-or-stay-home/15/)
- [A grief trigger is a smell, song, place or object that suddenly brings back strong feelings of loss.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/68-missing-someone-memory-boxes-birthdays-and-special-days/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «trigger» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/trigger/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.