torch slang

What Do British Call Flashlights? A flashlight, (US) or torch (UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric light. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the mid-2000s. What does Torch mean in British slang? 4 chiefly British : flashlight sense 1.