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switch

Pronunciation: /swɪt͡ʃ/

The English word “switch” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.
  2. A change or exchange.
  3. A movable section of railroad track which allows the train to be directed down one of two destination tracks; (set of) 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.
  5. Synonym of rute.
  6. A command line notation allowing specification of optional behavior.
  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. One who is willing to take either a submissive or a dominant role in a sexual relationship.
  12. 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.
  13. A variant of crazy eights where one card, such as an ace, reverses the direction of play.
  14. Synonym of Glock switch.
  15. A Glock pistol equipped with a Glock switch.
  16. A play in which the ball (or equivalent) is moved from one side of the playing area to the other.
  17. The process of the currently fronting headmate changing; an instance of this.

verb

  1. To exchange.
  2. To change (something) to the specified state using a switch.
  3. To whip or hit with a switch.

Etymology

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.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.