toggle switch

noun Electricity.

a switch in which a projecting knob or arm, moving through a small arc, causes the contacts to open or close an electric circuit suddenly, as commonly used in most homes.

Origin of toggle switch

First recorded in 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for toggle switch

Historical Examples of toggle switch

Swinging the light sharply against my leg, I struck the toggle-switch, and a beam of intense brilliancy shot through the gloom.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930
Various
When she called he groggily opened one eye half way, and fumbled for the toggle-switch.
Man of Many Minds
E. Everett Evans

British Dictionary definitions for toggle switch

toggle switch

noun

an electric switch having a projecting lever that is manipulated in a particular way to open or close a circuit
a computer device that is used to turn a feature on or off

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