to cause (a device) to operate by or as if by moving a switch, knob, or lever; turn on
informal (tr) to produce (charm, tears, etc) suddenly or automatically
informal (tr) (now slightly dated) to make up-to-date, esp regarding outlook, dress, etc
slang (tr) to arouse emotionally or sexually
slang (intr) to take or become intoxicated by drugs
slang (tr) to introduce (someone) to drugs
Noun use of verb phrase switch on
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every day, they have to switch on the generator, check the radiators and regularly clear snow from the road.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
In advance of the switch on, he said it was a "groundbreaking moment for UK energy innovation".
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
When sialic acids attach to lectin receptors on immune cells, they can switch on an immune dampening pathway.
From Science Daily • Dec. 23, 2025
Pub landlord James Fitzgerald will wait a while longer to switch on the outside Christmas lights at the Thatched House in London, as high energy bills cause financial pain across Britain.
From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025
He fumbles for the switch on the sconce nearest the door and it flickers to life, illuminating the room in front of him.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
