switch-on
noun
the act or process of switching on an ignition, light, appliance, etc.
switch-on
American
[swich-on, -awn]
/ ˈswɪtʃˌɒn, -ˌɔn /
noun
switch on
British
verb
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to cause (a device) to operate by or as if by moving a switch, knob, or lever; turn on
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informal (tr) to produce (charm, tears, etc) suddenly or automatically
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informal (tr) (now slightly dated) to make up-to-date, esp regarding outlook, dress, etc
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slang (tr) to arouse emotionally or sexually
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slang (intr) to take or become intoxicated by drugs
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slang (tr) to introduce (someone) to drugs
switch on
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of switch-on
Noun use of verb phrase switch on
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And up until three years ago, she used to host a party for more than 80 guests on the evening of "Courtenay's switch-on".
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson said the big switch-on was "an opportunity to show that hate will never win in our communities".
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2024
About 200 people are expected to attend a lights switch-on from 18:30 GMT in which the tree will glow with 1,000 lights.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2024
The switch-on is cancelled, the start of late-night shopping delayed for a week.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2023
Designer and TV star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has stepped in to take charge of turning on Blackpool Illuminations, after comic Johnny Vegas had to put out of the switch-on ceremony.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2022
Before engineers could switch on the WFI, the instrument spent 10 days drying out and undergoing decontamination.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Bass talked about her efforts to wean L.A. city completely off of coal-generated power, which it achieved in December 2025, and turning the switch on for one of the largest solar projects in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The tools switch on for the new year the same season the guardrail comes off.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
At Japan-based Takeda, scientists searched the company’s library of chemical compounds, looking for one that could switch on the orexin receptor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
He flips a switch on the wall, brightening the foyer with overhead light.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
