switchboard

noun

switch·​board ˈswich-ˌbȯrd 

: an apparatus (as in a telephone exchange) consisting of a panel on which are mounted electric switches so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected, combined, and controlled

Examples of switchboard in a Sentence

She used to work as a switchboard operator.

Recent Examples on the Web

Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure. —ABC News, 17 June 2026

In plain terms, most sensory information stops at the thalamus a kind of switchboard before being routed to other parts of the brain. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 16 June 2026

Director Andrew Patterson’s suspenseful debut keeps you on the edge of your seat as two smalltown 1950s New Mexico teens — one a switchboard operator, the other a DJ — tune into something that’s out there and trying to communicate. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 June 2026

Under normal conditions, this receptor acts like a molecular switchboard. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for switchboard

• abhorred
• aboard
• accord
• adored
• afford
• award
• baseboard
• billboard
• blackboard
• boxboard
• breadboard
• broadsword

Kids Definition

switchboard

noun

switch·​board -ˌbō(ə)rd 

-ˌbȯ(ə)rd

: a device (as in a telephone exchange) consisting of a panel on which are mounted electric switches so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected, combined, and controlled