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

See Examples For:

knife switch

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

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

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

In Figure 43 each battery has a double pole, double throw knife switch.

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

My hair was drying out, and starting to raise skywards, and the guy who thought he was Nicola Tesla went over to his apparatus and flipped a giant knife switch.

From Home Again, Home Again by Doctorow, Cory

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.