Webster's English Dictionary

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trigger

1. trig.ger \'trig-*r\ \'trig-*rd\ n [alter. of earlier tricker, fr. D 
   trekker, fr. MD trecker one] that pulls, fr. trecken to pull - more at TREK 
   1: a piece (as a lever) connected with a catch or detent as a means of rele 
   asing it; esp : the part of the action moved by the finger to fire a gun 2: 
   a stimulus that initiates a physiological or pathological process  - 
   trigger aj
2. trigger \'trig-(*-)rin\ vb or trig.ger.ing 1: to fire by pulling a 
   mechanical trigger {~ a rifle}; broad ly : to cause the explosion of {~ a 
   missile with a proximity fuze} 2: to initiate, actuate, or set off as if by 
   pulling a trigger  : to release a mechanical trigger