switch has definitions from the fields of sport,basketball,electricity,transportation,zoology,clothing,baseball
1
[ verb ] change over, change around, or switch over

Used in print

(The New Republic, 145: 19...)

The band should play the Rogues ' March as a processional , switching to `` Hail_Columbia , Happy_Land '' ! as the trap is sprung .

(The New York Times...)

He then switches back to a consideration of the seven principal Presidential hopefuls : five Democrats - Senator_Hubert_H._Humphrey , Senator_Stuart_Symington , Senator_Lyndon_B._Johnson , Adlai_E._Stevenson and Mr._Kennedy - and two Republicans - Governor_Rockefeller and Mr._Nixon .

([Anonymous,] "What You Should Know About Air...)

One of the more remarkable of the new cooling_systems is one that can be switched to heating .

2
[ noun ] (electricity) control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit

Used in print

(Arthur Miller, "The Prophecy," in The Best...)

She went_into the living_room and turned_on three lamps , then back into the kitchen where she turned_on the ceiling light and the switch that lit the floods on the barn , illuminating the driveway .

3
[ verb ] exchange or give (something) in exchange for

Synonyms

trade swap swop

Used in print

(The New York Times,...)

He attended New_York_University before switching to Georgetown_University in Washington .

Related terms

exchange barter substitution

4
[ verb ] lay aside, abandon, or leave for another

Synonyms

change shift

Examples

"switch to a different brand of beer" "She switched psychiatrists" "The car changed lanes"

Used in print

(Walter H. Buchsbaum, "Advances in Medical Electronics"...)

The video signal is amplified and then switched , in synchronism with the three ultraviolet_light sources which are sequenced by the rotating mirror so that during one-twentieth of a second only one wavelength , corresponding to red , green , or blue , is seen .

Because of light leakage from one ultraviolet source to another , the lights are switched by a commutator like assembly rotated by a synchronous_motor .

5
[ verb ] make a shift in or exchange of

Examples

"First Joe led then we switched"

Used in print

(Alfred Wright, "A Duel Golfers Will Never Forget"...)

On_this_day the wind had switched 180 ` from the northwest to the southeast , and nearly every shot on the course was different from the previous few days .

Related terms

change back veer shift

6
[ noun ] an event in which one thing is substituted for another

Examples

"the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood"

Used in print

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch,...)

Solly_Hemus announced a switch in his starting_pitcher , from Bob_Gibson to Ernie_Broglio , for several reasons :

7
[ verb ] reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)
8
[ noun ] (transportation) railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock

Related terms

railroad_track

9
[ noun ] (sport,basketball) a basketball maneuver; two defensive players shift assignments so that each guards the player usually guarded by the other

Related terms

basketball_play

10
[ verb ] cause to go on or t be engaged; set in operation

Synonyms

throw flip

Examples

"switch on the light" "throw the lever"

Related terms

engage switch_on switch_off

11
[ noun ] (zoology,clothing) hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair; used by women to give shape to a coiffure

Related terms

hairpiece

12
[ adjective ] (baseball) able to bat either right-handed or left-handed

Examples

"a switch hitter"

Related terms

ambidextrous

13
[ noun ] a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment
14
[ verb ] flog with or as if with a flexible rod

Related terms

flog

15
[ noun ] the act of changing one thing or position for another

Synonyms

shift switching

Examples

"his switch on abortion cost him the election"

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