[swich-on, -awn] 
| the act or process of switching on an ignition, light, appliance, etc. |
[swich] ,| 1. | a slender, flexible shoot, rod, etc., used esp. in whipping or disciplining. |
| 2. | an act of whipping or beating with or as with such an object; a stroke, lash, or whisking movement. |
| 3. | a slender growing shoot, as of a plant. |
| 4. | a hairpiece consisting of a bunch or tress of long hair or some substitute, fastened together at one end and worn by women to supplement their own hair. |
| 5. | Electricity. a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit. |
| 6. | Railroads. a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails. |
| 7. | a turning, shifting, or changing: a switch of votes to another candidate. |
| 8. | Bridge. a change to a suit other than the one played or bid previously. |
| 9. | Basketball. a maneuver in which two teammates on defense shift assignments so that each guards the opponent usually guarded by the other. |
| 10. | a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion. |
| 11. | to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash: He switched the boy with a cane. |
| 12. | to move, swing, or whisk (a cane, a fishing line, etc.) with a swift, lashing stroke. |
| 13. | to shift or exchange: The two girls switched their lunch boxes. |
| 14. | to turn, shift, or divert: to switch conversation from a painful subject. |
| 15. | Electricity. to connect, disconnect, or redirect (an electric circuit or the device it serves) by operating a switch (often fol. by off or on): I switched on a light. |
| 16. | Railroads.
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| 17. | Movies, Television. to shift rapidly from one camera to another in order to change camera angles or shots. |
| 18. | to strike with or as with a switch. |
| 19. | to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change. |
| 20. | to exchange or replace something with another: He used to smoke this brand of cigarettes, but he switched. |
| 21. | to move or sway back and forth, as a cat's tail. |
| 22. | to be shifted, turned, etc., by means of a switch. |
| 23. | Basketball. to execute a switch. |
| 24. | Bridge. to lead a card of a suit different from the suit just led by oneself or one's partner. |
| 25. | asleep at the switch, Informal. failing to perform one's duty, missing an opportunity, etc., because of negligence or inattention: He lost the contract because he was asleep at the switch. |
switch
See swap.
To move funds out of one mutual fund and into another mutual fund. See also telephone switching.
switch on
Produce as if operating by a control, as in She switched on the charm as soon as he walked in. [Mid-1900s] Also see switch off.