switch
Other forms: switched; switching; switches
If you and your friend are seated separately on an airplane, you can always ask a stranger if they will switch seats with you. To switch is to change or exchange.
Switch can be a noun or verb, and in most cases it has the meaning of change. You can switch classes, political parties, or the radio station. Sometimes if you switch something with someone, they take yours and you take theirs — as in an exchange or trade. However, there is one unrelated and frightening meaning for the word. In the olden days, a form of punishment was to be hit with a thin, flexible, piece of wood called a switch.
Definitions of switch
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control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit
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synonyms:
electric switch, electrical switch
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types:
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commutator
switch for reversing the direction of an electric current
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cutout
a switch that interrupts an electric circuit in the event of an overload
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ignition switch
switch that operates a solenoid that closes a circuit to operate the starter
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button, push, push button
an electrical switch operated by pressing
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selector, selector switch
a switch that is used to select among alternatives
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three-point switch, three-way switch
an electric switch that has three terminals; used to control a circuit from two different locations
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time-switch
a switch set to operate at a desired time
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on-off switch, on/off switch, toggle, toggle switch
a hinged switch that can assume either of two positions
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bell push
a button that is pushed to ring a bell
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dial, telephone dial
a disc on a telephone that is rotated a fixed distance for each number called
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DIP switch, dual inline package switch
(computer science) one of a set of small on-off switches mounted in computer hardware; used in place of jumpers to configure the machine for a user
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bell, buzzer, doorbell
a push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed
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horn button
a button that you press to activate the horn of an automobile
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mouse button
a push button on the mouse
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panic button
a button to push in order to summon help in case of an emergency
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reset button
a push button that you press to activate the reset mechanism
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type of:
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control, controller
a mechanism that controls the operation of a machine
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railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock
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type of:
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railroad, railroad track, railway
a line of track providing a runway for wheels
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railroad, railroad track, railway
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cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation
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change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
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synonyms:
exchange, switch over
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type of:
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change by reversal, reverse, turn
change to the contrary
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change by reversal, reverse, turn
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exchange or give (something) in exchange for
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make a shift in or exchange of
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reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)
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synonyms:
alternate, flip, flip-flop, interchange, tack
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type of:
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change by reversal, reverse, turn
change to the contrary
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change by reversal, reverse, turn
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lay aside, abandon, or leave for another“She switched psychiatrists”
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change, commute, convert, exchange
exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category
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change
change clothes; put on different clothes
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types:
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transition
make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)
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shift
change gears
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break
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
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channel-surf, surf
switch channels, on television
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jump, leap
pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
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diphthongise, diphthongize
change from a simple vowel to a diphthong
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cut
make an abrupt change of image or sound
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break
change directions suddenly
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break
undergo breaking
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cut away
move quickly to another scene or focus when filming
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change, commute, convert, exchange
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the act of changing one thing or position for another
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types:
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switcheroo
a sudden unexpected switch
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type of:
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change
the action of changing something
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switcheroo
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an event in which one thing is substituted for another
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synonyms:
permutation, replacement, substitution, transposition
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type of:
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fluctuation, variation
an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change
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fluctuation, variation
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a basketball maneuver; two defensive players shift assignments so that each guards the player usually guarded by the other
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type of:
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basketball play
a play executed by a basketball team
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basketball play
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a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment
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types:
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birch, birch rod
a switch consisting of a twig or a bundle of twigs from a birch tree; used to hit people as punishment
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cane
a stiff switch used to hit students as punishment
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ferule
a switch (a stick or cane or flat paddle) used to punish children
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ratan, rattan
a switch made from the stems of the rattan palms
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type of:
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instrument of punishment
an instrument designed and used to punish a condemned person
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flog with or as if with a flexible rod
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hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair; used by women to give shape to a coiffure
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type of:
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false hair, hairpiece, postiche
a covering or bunch of human or artificial hair used for disguise or adornment
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false hair, hairpiece, postiche
Pronunciation
US
/swɪtʃ/
UK
/swɪtʃ/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘switch'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing switch
This Promise of Change
In this autobiographical work, Jo Ann Allen Boyce recounts her experience of being one of the first Black children to integrate a public high school in Clinton, Tennessee, following desegregation in the late 1950s.
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
Science fiction fan Ebony-Grace struggles to adjust when she leaves her sheltered life in Huntsville, Alabama to spend the summer with her father in New York City.
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