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.
The real shock comes when you try to turn the light switch on and nothing happens.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Insurance is the kind of thing people don’t switch on and off, and Iran has been a potential hot spot for many years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 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
This time I find the light switch on the outside wall and I push it on.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
