toggle

American  

[tog-uhl] / ˈtɒg əl /

noun

1. a pin, bolt, or rod placed transversely through a chain, an eye or loop in a rope, etc., as to bind it temporarily to another chain or rope similarly treated.

2. a toggle joint, or a device having one.

3. an ornamental, rod-shaped button for inserting into a large buttonhole, loop, or frog, used especially on sports clothes.

4. Theater.

   1. Also called toggle rail.  a wooden batten across the width of a flat, for strengthening the frame.

   2. Also called toggle iron.  a metal device for fastening a toggle rail to a frame.

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verb (used with object)

toggled, toggling

1. to furnish with a toggle.

2. to bind or fasten with a toggle.

3. Informal. to turn, twist, or manipulate a toggle switch; dial or turn the switch of (an appliance).

   He toggled the TV between the baseball game and the news.

toggle British  

/ ˈtɒɡəl /

noun

1. a wooden peg or metal rod fixed crosswise through an eye at the end of a rope, chain, or cable, for fastening temporarily by insertion through an eye in another rope, chain, etc

2. a wooden or plastic bar-shaped button inserted through a loop for fastening

3. a pin inserted into a nautical knot to keep it secure

4. machinery a toggle joint or a device having such a joint

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verb

1. (tr) to supply or fasten with a toggle or toggles

2. computing to switch to a different option, view, application, etc

Other Word Forms

• toggler noun

Etymology

Origin of toggle

First recorded in 1760–70; perhaps variant of tackle

Example Sentences

Impelled by a sense of mission, he too toggled between Turkey and Syria, courting danger — and finding it.

From Los Angeles Times

To address this limitation, the researchers designed an integrated device capable of toggling between electric and magnetic toroidal vortex patterns in free-space terahertz pulses.

From Science Daily

On “Folded,” Kehlani toggles between contrite and commanding, weaving her vocals around a guitar line that moves like a Slinky tumbling down a staircase.

From The Wall Street Journal

But toggling from the massive to the minute comes naturally to her.

From Los Angeles Times

Set on a country estate, it toggles between the Regency Era and the present and weaves together physics, history and a whodunnit involving the poet Lord Byron.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dial
• knob
• switch