switch

[ swich ]

noun

1. a turning, shifting, or changing:

   After the scandal there was a dramatic switch of votes to another candidate.

   Synonyms: alternation, shift, change

2. a slender growing shoot, as of a plant:

   A forked willow switch can supposedly be used to find water underground.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Electricity. a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit.
6. Computers.
   1. 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. Compare hub ( def 7 ).
   2. Also called switch state·ment. (in a program or piece of code) a structure permitting a number of different actions as determined by the value of a particular expression.
   3. Also called com·mand-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.
7. Railroads. a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails.
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 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.
11. a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion.
12. Slang.
    1. (especially in BDSM) a person who is willing to take either a dominant or a submissive role in a sexual relationship.
    2. (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)

1. to shift or exchange:

   The two girls switched their lunch boxes.

2. to turn, shift, or divert:

   to switch conversation from a painful subject.

3. 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.

4. 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).
5. Movies, Television. to shift rapidly from one camera to another in order to change camera angles or shots.
6. to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash:

   He switched the boy with a cane.

7. to move, swing, or whisk (a cane, a fishing line, etc.) with a swift, lashing stroke.

verb (used without object)

1. to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change.
2. 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.

3. to make a stroke or strokes with or as with a switch.
4. to move or sway back and forth, as a cat's tail.
5. to be shifted, turned, etc., by means of a switch.
6. Basketball. to execute a switch.
7. Bridge. to lead a card of a suit different from the suit just led by oneself or one's partner.

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. a railway siding
10. a railway point
11. informal.
    See switchboard

verb

1. to shift, change, turn aside, or change the direction of (something)
2. to exchange (places); replace (something by something else)

   the battalions switched fronts

3. to transfer (rolling stock) from one railway track to another
4. tr to cause (an electric current) to start or stop flowing or to change its path by operating a switch
5. to swing or cause to swing, esp back and forth
6. tr to lash or whip with or as if with a switch

Derived Forms

• ˈswitchˌlike, adjective
• ˈswitcher, noun

Other Words From

• switch·a·ble adjective
• switch·er noun
• switch·like adjective
• un·switch·a·ble adjective
• un·switched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of switch¹

First recorded in 1585–95; earlier swits, switz “slender riding whip, flexible stick”; compare Low German (Hanoverian) schwutsche “long, thin stick”

Word History and Origins

Origin of switch¹

C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch branch, twig

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing switch

• asleep at the switch
• bait and switch

Example Sentences

Biden has since named several more nominees in hopes that they would pass the Senate hurdle before the chamber switches to GOP control on Jan. 3, 2025.

From Salon

"Every time he switches party, he gets a promotion."

From BBC

He said he knew the famous theme tune had captured the essence of 007 after switching the main riff from a sitar to an electric guitar.

From BBC

The proof of concept was there: When the Democrats switched to a higher-dominance mode, they controlled the narrative, their prospects brightened and Trump stalled.

From Salon

The team hoped to use the light pulses to prevent the bursts by switching off neurons that contained light-sensitive proteins.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• convert
• divert
• replace
• shift
• swap
• turn
• veer