Definition of "torchbearer" [torch•bear•er]

• One that carries a torch. (noun)
• One, such as the leader of a government, who imparts knowledge, truth, or inspiration to others. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Wyatt also said he wants to be not only a "torchbearer" for his constituency, but also the Aboriginal community."
• "On the evidence of this book, however, Waldman is simply not bad enough to be our modern-day bad mother torchbearer."
• "Ride back north, from Rantum, but bypass Westerland, and head east to the village of Keitum, the island's torchbearer of the local North Frisian ways."