# not touch with a ten-foot pole

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion.
2. To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone.

## Etymology
Sense 1 attested in 1846; sense 2 in 1844.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/not-touch-with-a-ten-foot-pole