Word.ws English Dictionary

switch

/swɪt͡ʃ/

switch noun: a device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.

switch: a device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow
Image: en:ArnoldReinhold, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

switch (countable and uncountable, plural switches)

  1. A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.
  2. A change or exchange.
    • After many complications and sudden switches of career and identity for all […] they end up selling out for fame and money, and leave the boardwalk for good.1985 December 7, Nicholas Deutsch, “Epstein on the Beach (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 21, page 15
    • Wenger sent on Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie to try to finish Leeds off and with 14 minutes left the switch paid off as the Spaniard sent Bendtner away down the right and his wonderful curling cross was headed in by Van Persie at the far post.2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2012
  3. (Philippines, US) A movable section of railroad track which allows the train to be directed down one of two destination tracks; (set of) points.
    Synonyms:
    points
  4. A long, slender woody plant stem or a flexible, thin rod used as a whip to administer corporal punishment in the United States.
    • Their mother would walk out into the yard and cut a switch from a tree and beat him—beat him, it seemed to Florence, until any other boy would have fallen down dead; […]1953, James Baldwin, “Florence's Prayer”, in Go Tell It on the Mountain (Penguin Classics), London: Penguin Books, published 2001, →ISBN
    • "A proper switch is a slim, flexible branch off a tree or a bush. A switch applied to the buttocks stings fiercely. It may leave red marks or bruises, but it causes no lasting damage.."2007, Jeffrey W. Hamilton, Raising Godly Children in a Wicked World, Lulu.com, page 15
    Synonyms:
    crop
  5. Synonym of rute.
    Synonyms:
    rute
  6. A command line notation allowing specification of optional behavior.
    • Use the /b switch to specify black-and-white printing.
    Synonyms:
    flag, option, specifier
  7. A programming construct that takes different actions depending on the value of an expression.
  8. A networking device connecting multiple wires, allowing them to communicate simultaneously, when possible. Compare to the less efficient hub device that solely duplicates network packets to each wire.
  9. A system of specialized relays, computer hardware, or other equipment which allows the interconnection of a calling party's telephone line with any called party's line.
  10. A mechanism within DNA that activates or deactivates a gene.
  11. (especially) One who is willing to take either a submissive or a dominant role in a sexual relationship.
    • Ideally, if one of your ladies happens to be a switch (or would be willing to switch for this scene), I would love to be able to inflict a little "revenge tickling" as well, as part of a scenario.2012, Terri-Jean Bedford, Bondage Bungalow Fantasies, page 99
  12. (historical) A separate mass or tress of hair, or of some substance (such as jute) made to resemble hair, formerly worn on the head by women.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (uncountable) A variant of crazy eights where one card, such as an ace, reverses the direction of play.
  2. (slang) Synonym of Glock switch.
    Synonyms:
    Glock switch
    1. (metonymically, slang) A Glock pistol equipped with a Glock switch.
      • The way that switch brrt, I know he dyin' (Oh my, oh my God). 6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (Bip, bip).2024 December 1, “Doot Doot (6 7)” (track 27), in Zombie Love Kensington Paradise, performed by Skrilla
  3. A play in which the ball (or equivalent) is moved from one side of the playing area to the other.
    • Once a sign of surrender and lead protection, the backwards kick plays a role in one of the most enterprising, enjoyable phases of the modern game: the switch. In an era where zones, presses, zone-presses and floods are ever present, the switch breaks through these tactical innovations like a hot...2023 July 20, Cody Atkinson, Sean Lawson, “How the Brisbane Lions are switching directions in the AFL to achieve attacking success”, in ABC News, Sydney, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2023...
  4. (multiplicity slang) The process of the currently fronting headmate changing; an instance of this.
    • Switches only happen once every couple weeks for us, but they're quite sudden when they happen.

Verb

switch (third-person singular simple present switches, present participle switching, simple past and past participle switched)

  1. (transitive) To exchange.
    • I want to switch this red dress for a green one.
    • A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2013, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
    Synonyms:
    interchange
  2. (transitive) To change (something) to the specified state using a switch.
    • Switch the light on.
    • When switched on, air brakes activate car by car, from the locomotive to the back of the train.2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2013, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
  3. (transitive) To whip or hit with a switch.
    • They were looking on the ground, absorbed in thought. The manager was switching his leg with a slender twig: his sagacious relative lifted his head.1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II
    • "Am I going to have to switch you?"1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Flame on the Frontier; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 11
  4. (intransitive) To change places, tasks, etc.
    • I want to switch to a different seat.
  5. (intransitive, slang) To get angry suddenly; to quickly or unreasonably become enraged.
  6. To swing or whisk.
    • to switch a cane
  7. To be swung or whisked.
    • The angry cat's tail switched back and forth.
  8. To trim.
    • Switch and clip thorn and other deciduous hedges.1811, Walter Nicol, The Planters Kalendar
  9. To turn from one railway track to another; to transfer by a switch; generally with off, from, etc.
    • to switch off a train; to switch a car from one track to another
    • There was also public praise in the days that followed for the train's driver, Andrew Johnson. It took a cool head to co-ordinate with the signaller at York ROC to have the train switched from fast to slow line, to permit the stop in Huntingdon station.2025 November 12, Philip Haigh, “High praise for rail staff's courage and clear thinking”, in RAIL, number 1048, page 50
  10. To shift to another circuit.
  11. (intransitive) To take on the opposite role (leader vs. follower) in a partner dance.
    • Feel free to ask her to follow, lead, or switch!2023 February 18 (last accessed), “Heather Lombardi”, in The Dancing Fools, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2023
  12. (transitive) To move (the ball or equivalent) from one side of the playing area to the other.
    • After they switched the ball across their back half, Hurley found the hard-running Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, who in turn hit up Stewart. Then the big man produced a moment of inspiration, taking on his defender before chipping the ball to Daniher, who goaled.2018 April 15, Sarah Harrington, “Essendon defeats Port Adelaide: Jake Stringer's brilliance personifies the Bombers' response to a tough week”, in Fox Footy, Melbourne, retrieved 27 May 2025

Adjective

switch (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to riding with the front and back feet swapped round compared to one's normal position.
  2. (freestyle skiing) Pertaining to skiing backwards.

Noun (2) capitalized: Switch

Switch (plural Switches)

  1. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Nintendo Switch.
    • Super Bomberman R was a launch title on the Switch.

switch meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

switch in Hindi

device to turn electric current on and off
स्विच svic

switch in Tamil

மாற்றுங்கள்

switch in Marathi

स्विच करा

switch in Urdu

device to turn electric current on and off
سُوِیچ suvic
More languagesFewer languages
switch in Bengali
চাবি cabi, সুইচ śuic
switch in Telugu
స్విచ్చి svicci
switch in Malayalam
മാറുക, സ്വിച്ച് ചെയ്യുക
switch in Kannada
ಸ್ವಿಚ್ ಮಾಡಿ, ಸ್ವಿಚ್
switch in Punjabi
ਸਵਿੱਚ ਕਰੋ, ਸਵਿੱਚ
switch in Gujarati
ચાંપ cā̃p
switch in Odia
ଅଦଳବଦଳ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଅଦଳବଦଳ
switch in Nepali
स्विच गर्नुहोस्, स्विच गर्न
switch in Tagalog
kabtol
switch in Arabic
مِقْلَاد miqlād
switch in Malay
suis, tukar
switch in Indonesian
sakelar, wesel
switch in Persian
سویچ suič, کلید kalid
switch in Thai
สวิตช์ sà-wít, ไม้เรียว mái-riao, สลับ sà-làp, เปลี่ยน bplìian
switch in Vietnamese
chuyển mạch, ngắt điện, công tắc, đóng ngắt
switch in Myanmar
ခလုတ် hka.lut

Examples of switch in a sentence

  • There is a small offset between the switch and the indicator which some users found confusing.
  • Don't switch it on yet – wait until I've reconnected the pump.
  • You have to push the switch hard to get the heater to kick in.

All 40 example sentences with switch

Synonyms of switch

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of switch

Forms of switch

Noun
pluralswitches
pluralSwitches
Verb
third-person singular presentswitches
present participleswitching
past participleswitched
pastswitched

Past tense of switch: switched

Plural of switch: switches

Origin of switch

Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch (“twig”), first attested in c. 1592. The mechanical device for altering the direction of something sense is first attested in c. 1797, pertaining to pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once wooden.

Words formed from switch

Phrases with switch

43 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with switch

25 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about switch

What does switch mean?
Switch means a device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.
What is switch in Hindi?
Switch in Hindi is स्विच (svic). See Switch meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is switch?
Switch can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce switch?
Switch is pronounced /swɪt͡ʃ/.
What is the plural of switch?
The plural of switch is switches.

Words near switch in the dictionary

  1. Switala
  2. Switalas
  3. Switalla
  4. Switalski
  5. Switalskis
  6. switch
  7. switch blade
  8. switch blades
  9. switch box
  10. switch boxes
  11. switch cane

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: switch (page history and authors); Switch (page history and authors); switch (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); switch (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-switch.ogg.

Cite this entry: “switch.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/switch. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.