switch
Verbswitches, switching, switched
Noun pluralswitches
Formsswitches, switching, switched
Pluralswitches
- 1To change from one place, task, or activity to another.
After ten years in banking, he decided to switch to teaching, even though it meant a smaller paycheck.
She switched to a different department last spring.
UsageUsually switch to something or switch from one thing to another; going back and forth is switch between them.
- 2A device that turns electric current on or off, or directs where it flows.
She pressed the switch and the motor stopped.
Several switches on the panel control the lighting.
UsageYou flip, press, or hit a switch, usually to turn something on or off.
Note
Behind the light switch stands the railway. The sense of a device that changes direction dates from about 1797, when it named the pivoted rails of minecart lines, which were once wooden. The electrical device keeps that old job of sending something one way or another, and the verb follows it: you switch a light on or off.
- 3
- 4To change something to a particular state by using a switch.
Switch the projector on before the meeting starts.
She switched the oven to a lower setting.
UsageUsually with on, off, or to: switch the light on, switch on the light, but switch it on (not
incorrect: switch on it).Similarturn
- 5A change from one thing to another, or an exchange of one for another.
The team made a switch at halftime.
Her switch from law to teaching surprised everyone.
UsageUsually a switch from one thing to another; you make a switch.
Similarchange, shift, swap, changeover
Note
Sports reporting uses it for a substitution. In Jonathan Stevenson's 2011 BBC report "Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal," sending on Fabregas and Van Persie is the switch that paid off. Its verb partner is "switch" meaning to exchange.
- 6A networking device that connects computers and forwards data to the device it is addressed to, so several can communicate at once, unlike a hub, which repeats everything to every port.
The technician connected every server to a gigabit switch.
Managed switches let administrators monitor traffic on each port.
Note
What sets a switch apart from a hub is that it is selective. It learns which port leads to each hardware address and sends a frame only there, so several conversations can run across its ports at once, though broadcasts and frames for unknown addresses still go out to the other ports. A hub simply repeats everything to every other wire. In networking the two names are not interchangeable.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- A switch selectively forwards traffic. cisco.com
- Known unicast destinations are reached through the learned port. Unknown unicast frames and broadcast frames are flooded to other eligible ports in the VLAN. cisco.com
- A switch permits simultaneous communication across different ports. cisco.com
- A hub repeats incoming signals to every other port, excluding the incoming port. tp-link.com
Less common meanings
- 7A movable section of railroad track that directs a train onto one of two tracks.
The dispatcher set the switch to route the freight onto the side track.
Frozen switches delayed several trains during the storm.
Similarpoints
Note
Railroads in the United States and the Philippines use this word. The same mechanism also goes by points, or a set of points. It is the older of the word's two devices, the pivoted rail the mechanical meaning started from. Working one is the railroad verb: crews switch a car from one track to another, or switch a train off the main line.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The railway sense is the older mechanical-device sense of switch. en.wiktionary.org
- The mechanical meaning originated with pivoted railway rails. en.wiktionary.org
- 8A slender, flexible rod or plant stem used as a whip, especially for corporal punishment.
He cut a switch from the willow to drive the cattle.
The teacher kept a switch on her desk.
UsageUsually you cut a switch from a tree or bush.
Note
The word appears in English around 1592. In the United States it carries the weight of corporal punishment: in James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a mother walks into the yard and cuts a switch from a tree.
- 9To turn a train from one railway track to another, or to transfer it by means of a switch, often with a particle such as off or onto.
The yard crew switched the freight cars onto the loading siding.
They switch empty cars off the main line each evening.
UsageUsually with onto, off, or from. Here switch off means moving to another track, not shutting something down.
Similarshunt
- 10A system of relays or computer hardware that connects a caller's telephone line to the line they are calling.
Engineers upgraded the central office switch to handle more calls.
When lightning knocked out the town's telephone switch, no calls could get through for most of the afternoon.
Similarexchange
Note
In telephone engineering the switch is a whole installation rather than one part. It is the equipment of an exchange that joins a calling line to the called line and holds that connection for the length of the call. It may be built of relays or of computer hardware. Either way the word names the system, as in a central office switch.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- In this sense, a switch is the exchange's switching system. en.wikipedia.org
- The switching equipment connects telephone lines and maintains the connection throughout the call. en.wikipedia.org
- Telephone switching systems can use relays. thg.org.uk
- Telephone switching systems can use computer hardware. communicationsmuseum.org.uk
- 11A mechanism within DNA that turns a gene on or off.
Researchers identified a molecular switch that activates the gene during development.
Several genetic switches regulate how the embryo forms.
UsageIn writing it usually comes as genetic switch or molecular switch.
Note
Geneticists borrow the image of the electrical device for regulatory elements in DNA. These turn a gene on or off, often by controlling whether it is transcribed in a given cell or under given conditions.
- 12To whip or strike a person or animal with a thin, flexible rod.
The old man switched the calf to drive it toward the barn.
Parents in those days would switch a child for talking back.
Note
In present-day use this is mainly a Southern US verb, tied to the punishment of children. Older literary English used it more loosely. In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899), the manager is switching his own leg with a slender twig, an idle gesture rather than a beating. It is the verb belonging to the thin whipping rod.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness. gutenberg.org
- Heart of Darkness was first published in 1899. en.wikipedia.org
- The older literary example describes the manager switching his own leg with a slender twig; the context supports interpreting this as an idle, nonpunitive gesture. gutenberg.org
- 13To swing or whisk something quickly back and forth, or to move with a quick sweeping motion.
Irritated animals switch their tails to ward off insects.
The horse switched its tail sharply at the swarm of gnats.
UsageMost often an animal switches its tail; the tail itself can also switch back and forth.
Similarswing
- 14A programming structure in which an expression’s value determines the action performed.
The developer replaced the nested conditions with a single switch.
Several switches in the code handle different command types.
UsageOften called a switch statement; each value it checks is a case.
Note
Programmers reach for a switch when one value decides among several paths. The expression is tested against a set of case labels, and control branches to the matching one. It often reads more clearly than a long chain of if-else tests. Keep it apart from the command-line switch, which sets an option rather than choosing a branch.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- A switch selects a path by matching an expression's value against case labels. learn.microsoft.com
- A command-line switch specifies an option affecting a command's operation. en.wikipedia.org
- 15A command-line notation that lets you specify optional behavior.
Running the tool with the verbose switch prints extra output.
Several switches control how the backup behaves.
UsageYou use or add a switch, or run a command with one.
Note
On the command line a switch is named by what it does: the /? switch that lists a command's options, the verbose switch for extra output. A slash or similar mark sets it apart from the command itself. The image is of an option turned on, much like the electrical device.
- 16To move the ball or a similar object from one side of the playing area to the other.
Defenders switch the attack to the opposite flank to create space.
She switched the ball across the field with one long pass.
UsageUsually switch the ball or switch the attack, often across the field or to a teammate.
Similarmove
Note
In a 2018 Fox Footy report of Essendon's win over Port Adelaide, the side switched the ball across their back half before going forward. The noun for the move is the switch as a play.
- 17In a team sport, a single pass or move that sends the ball, puck, or similar object across the playing area from one side to the other, as in a switch of play.
A well-timed switch opened up the right flank for an easy goal.
The team's rapid switches stretched the defense thin.
Note
A coach's word for moving play to the side of the field where defenders are fewer. Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson, writing in 2023 on how the Brisbane Lions are switching directions, rank the switch among the boldest attacking moves in today's game, noting that a backward kick, once seen as giving up or merely protecting a lead, now plays a part in one. The verb is switching the ball across.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson wrote the article about Brisbane's switching tactics in 2023. abc.net.au
- The authors characterize the switch as a particularly enterprising attacking move involving a backward kick. abc.net.au
- The article describes backward kicks as formerly associated with surrender and lead protection; it does not claim that protecting a lead was their exclusive use. abc.net.au
- 18In snowboarding or skiing, done with the body reversed from the usual stance, with the other foot leading or facing backward.
Landing the trick switch earned her extra points from the judges.
His switch takeoff looked as smooth as his regular one.
UsageBefore a noun (a switch takeoff) or after a verb, like an adverb: ride switch, land a trick switch.
Note
A snowboarding word that also covers skiing backward. It can follow a verb, as in ride switch or land a trick switch, or stand before a noun, as in a switch takeoff. Riding with the usual back foot leading demands control in an unfamiliar stance, which makes switch tricks harder to land.
- 19A device that, fitted to a Glock pistol, converts it to fully automatic fire.
The recovered handgun had a switch that made it fully automatic.
The tiny switch, small enough to hide in a palm, snaps onto the back of a Glock and turns it into a fully automatic weapon.
UsageIt can also mean the converted pistol itself; in careful writing, Glock switch makes clear you mean the part.
- 20
- 21A person who is willing both to dominate and to submit in a sexual relationship.
As a switch, he enjoyed both leading and yielding depending on his mood.
Couples where both partners are switches often trade roles from night to night.
Note
Noun and verb travel together in BDSM talk. In Terri-Jean Bedford's Bondage Bungalow Fantasies (2012), a woman may be a switch, or simply be willing to switch for one scene. The noun names a settled readiness to move between dominant and submissive roles, chosen by partner, scene or mood. The verb names a single change. Partner dancing has its own version in trading lead and follow.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Terri-Jean Bedford wrote Bondage Bungalow Fantasies. terrijeanbedford.com
- The book was published in 2012, despite its 2013 copyright date. everand.com
- The cited passage describes a woman being a switch or being willing to switch for a particular scene. en.wiktionary.org
- 22A separate mass or tress of hair, or of a hair-like substance such as jute, formerly worn on the head by women.
She fastened a dark switch to the back of her head before the ball.
Victorian women often added switches to create elaborate updos.
Similarhairpiece
Note
The word belongs to the history of hairdressing. A switch was a separate tress, real hair or a substitute such as jute, fastened to a woman's own hair. Today the same idea would be called a hairpiece or extension. A reader who meets "a dark switch" in an older text should picture hair, not the whipping rod.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Switch is a historical hairdressing term for a separate tress of real hair or imitation hair, including jute, worn by women. en.wiktionary.org
- A switch was fastened into the wearer's own hair. gutenberg.org
- 23A Glock pistol that has been equipped with a switch enabling fully automatic fire.
- 24To take on the opposite role (leader or follower) from the one you were dancing.
- 25A crazy eights variant whose players reverse the direction of their turns whenever a particular card, such as an ace, is played.
- 26The process by which the headmate currently fronting gives way to another; a single instance of that change.
- 27To trim or cut something down to a neater shape.
Switch and clip thorn and other deciduous hedges.
1811, Walter Nicol, The Planters Kalendar - 28A bundle of thin rods, often of birch, used as a beater on a drum or cymbal for a brushing, rustling effect.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch ("twig"), first attested around 1592. The sense of a mechanical device for changing direction first appeared around 1797, referring to the pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once made of wood.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Switch perhaps derives from Middle Dutch swijch, meaning twig; the English word is first attested around 1592. en.wiktionary.org
- The mechanical direction-changing sense is first attested around 1797 for pivoted minecart railway rails, which were formerly wooden. en.wiktionary.org