switch

[ swich ]

/ swɪtʃ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR switch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a slender, flexible shoot, rod, etc., used especially in whipping or disciplining.

an act of whipping or beating with or as with such an object; a stroke, lash, or whisking movement.

a slender growing shoot, as of a plant.

a hairpiece consisting of a bunch or tress of long hair or some substitute, fastened together at one end and worn by women to supplement their own hair.

Electricity. a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit.

Railroads. a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails.

a turning, shifting, or changing: a switch of votes to another candidate.

Bridge. a change to a suit other than the one played or bid previously.

Basketball. a maneuver in which two teammates on defense shift assignments so that each guards the opponent usually guarded by the other.

a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion.

verb (used with object)

to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash: He switched the boy with a cane.

to move, swing, or whisk (a cane, a fishing line, etc.) with a swift, lashing stroke.

to shift or exchange: The two girls switched their lunch boxes.

to turn, shift, or divert: to switch conversation from a painful subject.

Electricity. to connect, disconnect, or redirect (an electric circuit or the device it serves) by operating a switch (often followed by off or on): I switched on a light.

Railroads.

to move or transfer (a train, car, etc.) from one set of tracks to another.
to drop or add (cars) or to make up (a train).

Movies, Television. to shift rapidly from one camera to another in order to change camera angles or shots.

verb (used without object)

to strike with or as with a switch.

to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change.

to exchange or replace something with another: He used to smoke this brand of cigarettes, but he switched.

to move or sway back and forth, as a cat's tail.

to be shifted, turned, etc., by means of a switch.

Basketball. to execute a switch.

Bridge. to lead a card of a suit different from the suit just led by oneself or one's partner.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!

Question 1 of 7

anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for switch

asleep at the switch, Informal. failing to perform one's duty, missing an opportunity, etc., because of negligence or inattention: He lost the contract because he was asleep at the switch.

Origin of switch

1585–95; earlier swits, switz slender riding whip, flexible stick; compare Low German (Hanoverian) schwutsche long, thin stick

SYNONYMS FOR switch

7 change, shift, alternation, substitution.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR switch ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM switch

switch·a·ble, adjectiveswitch·er, nounswitch·like, adjectiveun·switch·a·ble, adjective

un·switched, adjective

Words nearby switch

swiss steak, swiss tournament, swisser, swissvale, swit., switch, switch box, switch cane, switch engine, switch grass, switch off

Definition for switch off (2 of 2)

switch-off

[ swich-awf, -of ]

/ ˈswɪtʃˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

the act or process of switching off a power supply, light source, appliance, etc.

Origin of switch-off

noun use of verb phrase switch off

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for switch off (1 of 2)

switch off

verb (adverb)

to cause (a device) to stop operating by or as if by moving a switch, knob, or lever; turn off

informal to cease to interest or be interested; make or become bored, alienated, etc

British Dictionary definitions for switch off (2 of 2)

switch

/ (swɪtʃ) /

noun

a mechanical, electrical, electronic, or optical device for opening or closing a circuit or for diverting energy from one part of a circuit to another

a swift and usually sudden shift or change

an exchange or swap

a flexible rod or twig, used esp for punishment

the sharp movement or blow of such an instrument

a tress of false hair used to give added length or bulk to a woman's own hairstyle

the tassel-like tip of the tail of cattle and certain other animals

any of various card games in which the suit is changed during play

US and Canadian a railway siding

US and Canadian a railway point

Australian informal See switchboard

verb

to shift, change, turn aside, or change the direction of (something)

to exchange (places); replace (something by something else)the battalions switched fronts

mainly US and Canadian to transfer (rolling stock) from one railway track to another

(tr) to cause (an electric current) to start or stop flowing or to change its path by operating a switch

to swing or cause to swing, esp back and forth

(tr) to lash or whip with or as if with a switch

Derived forms of switch

switcher, nounswitchlike, adjective

Word Origin for switch

C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch branch, twig

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with switch off (1 of 2)

switch off

Stop paying attention, lose interest, as in Whenever he starts in on economics, I switch off automatically. This metaphoric expression transfers turning off a light switch or similar device to diverting one's attention. [c. 1860] Also see switch on.

Idioms and Phrases with switch off (2 of 2)

switch

In addition to the idioms beginning with switch

switch off
switch on

also see:

asleep at the switch
bait and switch

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

switch