switch

[swich] /swɪtʃ/
noun
1.
a slender, flexible shoot, rod, etc., used especially in whipping or disciplining.
2.
an act of whipping or beating with or as with such an object; a stroke, lash, or whisking movement.
3.
a slender growing shoot, as of a plant.
4.
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.
5.
Electricity. a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit.
6.
Railroads. a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails.
7.
a turning, shifting, or changing:
a switch of votes to another candidate.
8.
Bridge. a change to a suit other than the one played or bid previously.
9.
Basketball. a maneuver in which two teammates on defense shift assignments so that each guards the opponent usually guarded by the other.
10.
a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion.
verb (used with object)
11.
to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash:
He switched the boy with a cane.
12.
to move, swing, or whisk (a cane, a fishing line, etc.) with a swift, lashing stroke.
13.
to shift or exchange:
The two girls switched their lunch boxes.
14.
to turn, shift, or divert:
to switch conversation from a painful subject.
15.
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.
16.
Railroads.
  1. to move or transfer (a train, car, etc.) from one set of tracks to another.
  2. to drop or add (cars) or to make up (a train).
17.
Movies, Television. to shift rapidly from one camera to another in order to change camera angles or shots.
verb (used without object)
18.
to strike with or as with a switch.
19.
to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change.
20.
to exchange or replace something with another:
He used to smoke this brand of cigarettes, but he switched.
21.
to move or sway back and forth, as a cat's tail.
22.
to be shifted, turned, etc., by means of a switch.
23.
Basketball. to execute a switch.
24.
Bridge. to lead a card of a suit different from the suit just led by oneself or one's partner.
Idioms
25.
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
1585-95; earlier swits, switz slender riding whip, flexible stick; compare Low German (Hanoverian) schwutsche long, thin stick
Related forms
switchable, adjective
switcher, noun
switchlike, adjective
unswitchable, adjective
unswitched, adjective
Synonyms
7. change, shift, alternation, substitution.
Examples from the web for switch
  • Doing some research before making the change to solar power will help you determine whether, when and how to make the switch.
  • And it's true that the switch to biofuels can have benefits that go beyond climate change.
  • In the case of the light-switch puzzle, the suggestion was that you turn one switch on for a while, then turn it off.
  • Check with your local government-you might even be able to switch to a waterless composting toilet.
  • The friend of a friend who decided to switch tables for the day.
  • Design a lampshade with a secret bloom that stays hidden till you switch on the light.
  • But worry not-the plan is to switch out some artifacts with other pieces in the collections.
  • switch to low-nitrogen fertilizer for next six months.
  • If necessary, flip the switch which should be on the main fan drum near the pull chain.
  • It's easy to switch into automatic pilot mode when it comes to planning a course.
British Dictionary definitions for switch

switch

/swɪtʃ/
noun
1.
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
2.
a swift and usually sudden shift or change
3.
an exchange or swap
4.
a flexible rod or twig, used esp for punishment
5.
the sharp movement or blow of such an instrument
6.
a tress of false hair used to give added length or bulk to a woman's own hairstyle
7.
the tassel-like tip of the tail of cattle and certain other animals
8.
any of various card games in which the suit is changed during play
9.
(US & Canadian) a railway siding
10.
(US & Canadian) a railway point
11.
(Austral, informal) See switchboard
verb
12.
to shift, change, turn aside, or change the direction of (something)
13.
to exchange (places); replace (something by something else): the battalions switched fronts
14.
(mainly US & Canadian) to transfer (rolling stock) from one railway track to another
15.
(transitive) to cause (an electric current) to start or stop flowing or to change its path by operating a switch
16.
to swing or cause to swing, esp back and forth
17.
(transitive) to lash or whip with or as if with a switch
See also switch off, switch on
Derived Forms
switcher, noun
switchlike, adjective
Word Origin
C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch branch, twig
Word Origin and History for switch
n.

1590s, "slender riding whip," probably from a Flemish or Low German word akin to Hanoverian swutsche, a variant of Low German zwukse "long thin stick, switch," from Germanic base *swih- (cf. Old High German zwec "wooden peg," German Zweck "aim, design," originally "peg as a target," Zwick "wooden peg"), perhaps connected with PIE root *swei- "to swing, bend, to turn."

The meaning "device for changing the direction of something or making or breaking a connection" is first recorded 1797. "The peg sense suits the mech(anical) applications" [Weekley], and these senses may be a direct borrowing from those senses in Continental Germanic languages rather than a continuation of the "pliant wand" sense. The meaning "a change, a reversal, an exchange, a substitution" is first recorded 1920.

v.

1610s, "to strike with a switch," from switch (n.). Related: Switched; switching. The meaning "turn off or on" is first recorded 1853 of trains on tracks, 1881 of electricity, 1932 of radio or (later) television. Sense of "shift, divert" is from 1860. Meaning "to change one thing for another" is recorded from 1919. Switch-hitter is 1930s in baseball slang, 1956 in the sense of "bisexual person."

Slang definitions & phrases for switch

switch

noun
  1. A change, esp a reversal or major alteration: This is a big switch for the reigning party (1920+)
  2. An exchange, esp an illicit substitution: He made a switch, giving her the empty purse and taking the valuable one (1935+)
verb

To inform; snitch (1940s+ Underworld)

Related Terms

asleep at the switch, chicken switch, not have all one's switches on


switch in Technology


1. switch statement.
2. command line option.
3. packet switch, circuit switch.
(1999-01-14)

Idioms and Phrases with switch

switch

also see:
Encyclopedia Article for switch

device for opening and closing electrical circuits under normal load conditions, usually operated manually. There are many designs of switches; a common type-the toggle, or tumbler, switch-is widely used in home lighting and other applications. The so-called mercury, or "silent," switch is used extensively for controlling home lighting circuits. The oil switch has its live parts immersed in oil to reduce arcing. The aggregate of switching or circuit-breaking equipment for a power station or a transforming station, frequently located in an outdoor yard (switchyard) beside the station, is usually regarded as switchgear.

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