Also means
to launch, to start
Usage Note
Déclencher is the go-to verb when something activates a mechanism or starts a chain of events: déclencher une alarme, déclencher une crise ('to trigger a crisis'). The noun déclenchement means 'triggering' or 'onset'. In photography, déclencher means to press the shutter release.
Examples
"Ce bruit a déclenché l'alarme."
Natural Translation
That noise triggered the alarm.

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