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switch
[swich]
noun
a turning, shifting, or changing.
After the scandal there was a dramatic switch of votes to another candidate.
Synonyms: , ,a slender growing shoot, as of a plant.
A forked willow switch can supposedly be used to find water underground.
a slender, flexible shoot, rod, etc., used especially as a whip, as for corporal punishment.
Discipline there was done by means of a switch.
She would take a switch to the ox, but never more severely than to get its attention.
a stroke, lash, or whisking movement, with or as if with a slender, flexible rod or shoot.
She was interrupted by a switch in the face from a tree branch.
Electricity.a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit.
Computers.
a device connecting others in a network, enabling communication among them by interrogating each received data packet for its source and destination and then routing it to the appropriate device in the network.
Also called switch statement.(in a program or piece of code) a structure permitting a number of different actions as determined by the value of a particular expression.
Also called command-line switch.an argument sent to a program when it is run from the command line rather than via a graphical user interface, and which modifies the function of the command.
Railroads.a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails.
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 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.
a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion.
Slang.
(especially in BDSM) a person who is willing to take either a dominant or a submissive role in a sexual relationship.
(in the LGBTQ community) a person who is willing to take either a penetrative or a receptive role in a particular sexual act, especially anal intercourse.
verb (used with object)
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 oron ).
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.
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.
verb (used without object)
to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change.
to exchange or replace something with another.
He still eats a lot of potato chips, but he's switched to a brand that's lower in salt.
to make a stroke or strokes with or as with a switch.
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.
switch
/ ɪʃ /
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
a railway siding
a railway point
informalSee 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
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
Other 51Թ Forms
- switchable adjective
- switcher noun
- switchlike adjective
- unswitchable adjective
- unswitched adjective
- ˈɾٳˌ adjective
- ˈɾٳ noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of switch1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of switch1
Idioms and Phrases
asleep at the switch, 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.
Example Sentences
But as his success soars, he finds he can switch off by playing snooker.
Informally, he maintained his innocence, and was making the switch purely to speed up the process, he said.
Even the sleeping tablets he took could not help him switch off.
She would not be allowed to switch to the other benefit later.
GEL said islanders could save money by switching to its "unique Super Economy 12 tariff" - which could save a typical user £270 a year.
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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.
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