Word.ws English Dictionary

switching

/ˈswɪt͡ʃɪŋ/

switching is the present participle and gerund of switch.

Noun

switching (countable and uncountable, plural switchings)

  1. Corporal punishment by use of a switch (twig or twigs).
  2. Back-and-forth movement of an animal's tail, etc.
  3. The transference of an investment from one fund to another.
  4. The movement of a locomotive from one track to another.
  5. Change from one product or service provider to another.
  6. The process of transferring data packets from one device to another in a network, or from one network to another.

Meaning of switch

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.
    Synonyms:
    interchange
  2. (transitive) To change (something) to the specified state using a switch.
    • Switch the light on.
  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
  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

See all 31 meanings of switch

Forms of switching

pluralswitchings

Words formed from switching

Phrases with switching

Questions about switching

What does switching mean?
Switching means corporal punishment by use of a switch (twig or twigs).
What is switching the present participle and gerund of?
Switching is the present participle and gerund of switch.
What part of speech is switching?
Switching is a noun.
How do you pronounce switching?
Switching is pronounced /ˈswɪt͡ʃɪŋ/.
What is the plural of switching?
The plural of switching is switchings.

Words near switching in the dictionary

  1. switchhook
  2. switchhooks
  3. switchier
  4. switchies
  5. switchiest
  6. switching
  7. switching algebra
  8. switching codes
  9. switching function
  10. switching functions
  11. switching gears

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: switching (page history and authors); switch (page history and authors). 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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-switching.wav.

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