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

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Here is our second set of teacher-selected PSAT vocabulary words. Do you know the meanings of these terms?

Question 1 of 10

advocate

to give up possession or occupancy of.

to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.

to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.

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

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

Example sentences from the Web for switched

Passengers were asked to make sure their phones and other devices were charged so that they could be switched on for inspection.
A Gift to the Jihadis: The Unseen Airport Security Threat|Clive Irving|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mixing meat and dairy is a kosher rule-breaker, so they switched the cheese for potatoes.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Meet the outgoing Michigan Republican congressman who switched his vote and kept the government funded Thursday.
Quirky Reindeer Farmer Keeps Government Open for Christmas|Ben Jacobs|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was writing Lorrie Moore knock-off short stories before I switched to nonfiction.
Meghan Daum On Tackling The Unspeakable Parts Of Life|David Yaffe|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The RSD Facebook page, and all the local RSD groups, known as “inner circle,” have been switched to private.
The Secret World of Pickup Artist Julien Blanc|Brandy Zadrozny|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These were switched to follow the form of the rest of the book.
Indoor and Outdoor Recreations for Girls|Lina Beard
As soon as I had entered mine I switched on the light and threw off my coat.
The Pirate of Panama|William MacLeod Raine
Mr. Manning, to whom he was delivering this discourse, switched him on to a new track by asking what he meant by "Neo-European."
Mr. Britling Sees It Through|H. G. Wells
Nor could the searchlights be switched on without grave risk to the all-important task of rounding-up the German torpedo-boats.
Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S.|Percy F. Westerman
At length she dismissed the maid, switched off the lights, and then remembered that there was no water in the carafe.
The Voice in the Fog|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for switched

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 switched

switch

In addition to the idioms beginning with switch

switch off
switch on

also see:

asleep at the switch
bait and switch

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switch