Result from Foreign Dictionaries (4 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Switch \Switch\, n. [Cf. OD. swick a scourage, a whip. Cf. {Swink}, {Swing}.] 1. A small, flexible twig or rod. [1913 Webster] Mauritania, on the fifth medal, leads a horse with something like a thread; in her other hand she holds a switch. --Addison. [1913 Webster] 2. (Railways) A movable part of a rail; or of opposite rails, for transferring cars from one track to another. [1913 Webster] 3. A separate mass or trees of hair, or of some substance (at jute) made to resemble hair, worn on the head by women. [1913 Webster] 4. (Elec.) A device for shifting an electric current to another circuit, or for making and breaking a circuit. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] {Safety switch} (Railways), a form of switch contrived to prevent or lessen the danger of derailment of trains. {Switch back} (Railways), an arrangement of tracks whereby elevations otherwise insurmountable are passed. The track ascends by a series of zigzags, the engine running alternately forward and back, until the summit is reached. {Switch board} (Elec.), a collection of switches in one piece of apparatus, so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected or combined in any desired manner. {Switch grass}. (Bot.) See under {Grass}. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Switch \Switch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Switched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Switching}.] 1. To strike with a switch or small flexible rod; to whip. --Chapman. [1913 Webster] 2. To swing or whisk; as, to switch a cane. [1913 Webster] 3. To trim, as, a hedge. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell. [1913 Webster] 4. To turn from one railway track to another; to transfer by a switch; -- generally with off, from, etc.; as, to switch off a train; to switch a car from one track to another. [1913 Webster] 5. (Eccl.) To shift to another circuit. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Switch \Switch\, v. i. To walk with a jerk. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: switch n 1: control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit [syn: {switch}, {electric switch}, {electrical switch}] 2: an event in which one thing is substituted for another; "the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood" [syn: {substitution}, {permutation}, {transposition}, {replacement}, {switch}] 3: hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair; used by women to give shape to a coiffure 4: railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock 5: a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment 6: a basketball maneuver; two defensive players shift assignments so that each guards the player usually guarded by the other 7: the act of changing one thing or position for another; "his switch on abortion cost him the election" [syn: {switch}, {switching}, {shift}] v 1: change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence [syn: {switch over}, {switch}, {exchange}] 2: exchange or give (something) in exchange for [syn: {trade}, {swap}, {swop}, {switch}] 3: lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; "switch to a different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists"; "The car changed lanes" [syn: {switch}, {shift}, {change}] 4: make a shift in or exchange of; "First Joe led; then we switched" [syn: {switch}, {change over}, {shift}] 5: cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation; "switch on the light"; "throw the lever" [syn: {throw}, {flip}, {switch}] 6: flog with or as if with a flexible rod 7: reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) [syn: {interchange}, {tack}, {switch}, {alternate}, {flip}, {flip- flop}]