switch

[[t]swɪtʃ[/t]]

n.

1) a turning, shifting, or changing

2) elm a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit

3) rai a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another

4) a slender, flexible shoot, rod, etc., used esp. in whipping or disciplining

5) the act of whipping or beating with or as if with such an object; a stroke, lash, or whisking movement

6) a bunch or tress of long hair or some substitute, worn by women to supplement their own hair

7) zool. a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals

8) to change or exchange

9) to turn, shift, or divert:

to switch the subject[/ex]

10) elm to connect, disconnect, or redirect (an electric circuit or the device it serves) by operating a switch (often fol. by off or on)

11) to whip or beat with a switch or the like

12) to move, swing, or whisk (a cane, a fishing line, etc.) with a swift, lashing stroke

13) rai

a) to move or transfer (a train, car, etc.) from one set of tracks to another

b) to drop or add (cars) or to make up (a train)

14) to strike with or as if with a switch

15) to change, as direction or course; turn or shift:

to switch to another road[/ex]

16) to exchange or replace something with another

17) cvb to move back and forth briskly, as a cat's tail

18) to be shifted, turned, etc., by means of a switch

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Etymology: 1585–95; orig. uncert. switch′a•ble, adj. switch′er, n.