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.
Instead, organisers have been left scrambling to organise a muted switch-on, with Sunday's event cancelled following advice from its safety advisory group, amid nationwide security concerns in the wake of the Manchester synagogue attack.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
The market's opening day coincided with the Belfast Christmas lights switch-on, with a number of roads in the city centre closed.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2024
The switch-on is cancelled, the start of late-night shopping delayed for a week.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2023
The stage was set in Market Square for the Christmas lights switch-on, an event that draws thousands for music, merriment and a night of festive shopping.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2023
The switch-on event is part of a programme of free entertainment which will start with a float parade.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2023
As he played the instrumental at the end of a session, Madonna said, "Just switch on the microphone, I think I've got an idea," he told Norton.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Two were broadcasting their locations as they crossed and a third appeared to switch on its location tracker just past the line.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
“We’re not pulling a bait and switch on you,” Hoover told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
"We are seeing the brain's own repair systems switch on, healing inflammation and restoring itself," Shetty said.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026
Maddie thought it must be like having a little brass peg in your mind, like the hinged switch on an electric hall light, and when you flipped it you turned instantly into another person.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
