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switch

/swɪt͡ʃ/noun, verb, adjective

switch is spelled S-W-I-T-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, switch means “A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of switch is switches.

How many letters and syllables are in switch?

Letters6: S-W-I-T-C-H
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing40 times per million words; the 2,487th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is switch?

Switch appears 40 times per million words in written English, the 2,487th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce switch?

  • /swɪt͡ʃ/

Switch has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-switch.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-Switch.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of switch

  • switches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • switching participle, present
  • switched participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does switch mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.

  2. 2

    A change or exchange.

  3. 3

    USA movable section of railroad track which allows the train to be directed down one of two destination tracks; (set of) points.

  4. 4

    A long, slender woody plant stem or a flexible, thin rod used as a whip to administer corporal punishment in the United States.

  5. 5

    Synonym of rute.

  6. 6

    A command line notation allowing specification of optional behavior.

    Use the /b switch to specify black-and-white printing.

  7. 7

    A programming construct that takes different actions depending on the value of an expression.

  8. 8

    A networking device connecting multiple wires, allowing them to communicate simultaneously, when possible. Compare to the less efficient hub device that solely duplicates network packets to each wire.

verb

  1. 1

    To exchange.

    I want to switch this red dress for a green one.

  2. 2

    To change (something) to the specified state using a switch.

    Switch the light on.

  3. 3

    To whip or hit with a switch.

  4. 4

    To change places, tasks, etc.

    I want to switch to a different seat.

  5. 5

    slangTo get angry suddenly; to quickly or unreasonably become enraged.

  6. 6

    To swing or whisk.

    to switch a cane

  7. 7

    To be swung or whisked.

    The angry cat's tail switched back and forth.

  8. 8

    To trim.

adjective

  1. 1

    Pertaining to riding with the front and back feet swapped round compared to one's normal position.

  2. 2

    Pertaining to skiing backwards.

noun

as Switch
  1. 1

    Ellipsis of Nintendo Switch.

    Super Bomberman R was a launch title on the Switch.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Switch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchinterrupteur (device to turn electric current on and off), aiguille, aiguillage (movable section of railroad track), badine (thin rod used as a whip), commutateur (command line notation), échanger (to exchange)
GermanSchalter (device to turn electric current on and off), Weiche (movable section of railroad track), Spießrute (thin rod used as a whip), Switch, Verteiler, Netzwerkweiche (networking device)
Portugueseinterruptor, chave (device to turn electric current on and off), aparelho de mudança de via, agulha (movable section of railroad track), vergasta, açoite (thin rod used as a whip)
Spanishinterruptor, suich, suiche, switch (device to turn electric current on and off), cambio, aguja (movable section of railroad track)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does switch come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after switch