cite vs touch on

cite is a noun but touch on is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
cite	Yes	No	Yes	No
touch on	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, touch on is a hyponym of cite; that is, touch on is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than cite:

cite (noun)	touch on (noun)
a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage

cite (verb)	touch on (verb)
make reference to	restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
commend	have an effect upon
repeat a passage from	refer to or discuss briefly
refer to for illustration or proof	be relevant to
advance evidence for
call in an official matter, such as to attend court
refer to