switch off

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To stop or disable a device by turning a switch or a lever.
   • To switch off the instrument when the clockwork is not wound up, and to remind the subscriber of doing so, there is provided an indicator, x, which is worked in the following manner.1893, The Electrical Review, volume 32, page 554
   • We have found that a patrolman in the central section of the city can switch on, and later switch off, 100 signs with ease.1906, National Electric Light Association, National Electric Light Association Twenty-Ninth Convention, page 420

   Synonyms:

   turn off, power down

2. (idiomatic) To lose interest, and start thinking about something else.
   • Fulham switched off as Giggs took a quick corner to Valencia. He played it back to Giggs, whose cross was headed in by Nani with the lurking Rooney unable to add a touch.2011 December 21, Tom Rostance, “Fulham 0 - 5 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport
   • While you are pregnant with the desire for the car, the house or anything, try to switch off your mind to avoid brainstorming any solutions.2013, Ashbel Vudzijena, Success is a CALLING!, page 82
3. (idiomatic, intransitive) To alternate between; to trade.
   • Do you eat all your peas and then all your potatoes, or do you switch off between them as you go?
   • "We haven't a musket, and Tommy's crowd are well armed. They have the inside track" "Then we can switch off." "Switch off?" "Yes, and take the inside track."1869, Oliver Optic, Switch Off; or, the War of the Students