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

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

Turn off the electricity both at the snap switch and at the knife switch.

From Common Science by Ritchie, John W. (John Woodside)

He threw a small knife switch and again turned.

From The Affair of the Brains by Gilmore, Anthony

Turn it off by opening the knife switch.

From Common Science by Ritchie, John W. (John Woodside)

This is probably the better layout, since any battery may be connected in the circuit by throwing down the knife switch, and any battery may be cut out by throwing the switch up.

From The Automobile Storage Battery Its Care And Repair by Witte, Otto A.