switch

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of changing one thing or position for another

   The candidate's switch on abortion cost them the election.

2. 2
   noun

   a basketball maneuver in which defending players change the target they're guarding in mid-play

   The coach called for a switch in order to shake up the opposing team.

3. 3
   noun

   a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment

   They have terrible memories of being beaten with a switch.

4. 4
   noun

   control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit

   I installed a switch to control the lights in the room.

5. 5
   noun

   railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections

   The train was guided onto a side track by a switch.

6. 6
   noun

   hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair

   The ballroom dancer always wore a long blonde switch as part of their performance costume.

7. 7
   verb

   to change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence

   I switched places with the next person in line.

8. 8
   verb

   to lay aside, abandon, or leave for another

   We switched to a different brand of beer.

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.