knife switch

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a form of air switch in which a moving element, usually a hinged blade, is placed between two contact clips.

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knife switch British  

noun

1. an electric switch in which a flat metal blade, hinged at one end, is pushed between fixed contacts

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Etymology

Origin of knife switch

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Amber No. 32 in fireplace on knife switch to be flickered when Celia throws letters and army list into fire.

From Project Gutenberg

Oliver's "Knife Switch Intuitive" is another interactive piece: an amalgam of steel, wood, brass, copper and electrical components that, at the press of a button, sends flamelike lights traveling up three dark glass tubes.

From Seattle Times

One of the main switches for the reactor at Obninsk is a double-pole, single-throw knife switch, a device that now turns up in the U.S. only in the laboratory scenes of Frankenstein movies.

From Time Magazine Archive

The switch S is a small knife switch.

From Project Gutenberg

Cover the blade of the knife switch with a fold of paper and close it.

From Project Gutenberg