Meaning of switch in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /swɪtʃ/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Verb

    switch

    Definitions

    1. change over, change around, or switch over

    Derived terms

  2. 2. exchange or give (something) in exchange for

    Derived terms

  3. 3. lay aside, abandon, or leave for another

    Examples

    • « switch to a different brand of beer »
    • « She switched psychiatrists »
    • « The car changed lanes »

    Derived terms

  4. 4. make a shift in or exchange of

    Examples

    • « First Joe led »
    • « then we switched »

    Derived terms

  5. 5. cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation

    Examples

    • « switch on the light »
    • « throw the lever »

    Derived terms

  6. 6. flog with or as if with a flexible rod

    Derived terms

  7. 7. reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

    Derived terms

  8. Noun

    switch

    Etymology

    late 16th century (denoting a thin tapering riding whip): probably from Low German

    Definitions

    1. control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit

    Derived terms

  9. 2. an event in which one thing is substituted for another

    Examples

    • « the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood »

    Derived terms

  10. 3. hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair

    Examples

    • « used by women to give shape to a coiffure »
  11. 4. railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections

    Examples

    • « used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock »
  12. 5. a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment
  13. 6. a basketball maneuver

    Examples

    • « two defensive players shift assignments so that each guards the player usually guarded by the other »
  14. 7. the act of changing one thing or position for another

    Examples

    • « his switch on abortion cost him the election »

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « You know, sitting in the car when they got back in and - first of all, it was relief. I was not - there were two get away cars or switch cars they were called. And, you know, the group tended to include everyone. »
    Patty Hearst
  • « People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they're all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error. »
    Florence King
  • « I think every chef, not just in America, but across the world, has a double-edged sword - two jackets, one that's driven, a self-confessed perfectionist, thoroughbred, hate incompetence and switch off the stove, take off the jacket and become a family man. »
    Gordon Ramsay
  • « Judaism is much more communal, and partly as a consequence of my religious switch, I am increasingly more suspicous of my previous view that what people do in the privacy of their own home is their business alone. »
    Luke Ford
  • « The only problem is I can't get into PG-13 Land. I just get stuck in R rated movies, which they would love us to make PG-13 movies but I never get there. But I think that you've got to make them different. You've got to switch them up. »
    Joel Silver

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