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

an act of whipping or beating with or as with such an object; a stroke, lash, or whisking movement.

a slender growing shoot, as of a plant.

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.

Electricity . a device for turning on or off or directing an electric current or for making or breaking a circuit.

Railroads . a track structure for diverting moving trains or rolling stock from one track to another, commonly consisting of a pair of movable rails.

a turning, shifting, or changing

a switch of votes to another candidate.

Bridge . a change to a suit other than the one played or bid previously.

Basketball . a maneuver in which two teammates on defense shift assignments so that each guards the opponent usually guarded by the other.

a tuft of hair at the end of the tail of some animals, as of the cow or lion.

to whip or beat with a switch or the like; lash

He switched the boy with a cane.

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

to shift or exchange

The two girls switched their lunch boxes.

to turn, shift, or divert

to switch conversation from a painful subject.

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.

Railroads .

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

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

Movies, Television . to shift rapidly from one camera to another in order to change camera angles or shots.

to strike with or as with a switch.

to change direction or course; turn, shift, or change.

to exchange or replace something with another

He used to smoke this brand of cigarettes, but he switched.

to move or sway back and forth, as a cat's tail.

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

Basketball . to execute a switch.

Bridge . to lead a card of a suit different from the suit just led by oneself or one's partner. ?

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.

noun

inactivity , stagnation

noun

about-face , alteration , change of direction , reversal , shift , substitution , swap , transformation , commutation , exchange , interchange , trade , transposition

verb

change course , convert , deflect , deviate , divert , interchange , rearrange , replace , shift , shunt , sidetrack , substitute , swap , trade , turn , turnabout , turn aside , veer , waggle , wave , commute , exchange , change , flog , reversal , transfer , whip