SWITCHES Synonyms: 241 Similar and Opposite Words

switches 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of switch

as in swaps

to give up (something) and take something else in return switched the real grapes for fake ones switched the day of his flight from Thursday to Friday

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Relevance

as in flaps

to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions cows lazily switching their tails and chewing their cud

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as in hides

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible switched the stagecoach horses to control the direction they took

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as in reverses

to change (as an opinion) to the contrary a politician who has switched his position on a number of issues

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in licks

to strike repeatedly the loose rigging switched the mast during the storm

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switches

2 of 2

noun

plural of switch

as in whips

a long thin or flexible tool for striking struck the horse's hide with a leather switch, and it took off at a gallop

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as in flicks

a quick jerky movement from side to side or up and down that telltale switch of the cat's tail meant there was a mouse under the piano

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as in punches

a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument in frustration, he gave the mule a sharp switch on the rump, but it still wouldn't budge

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of switches

Verb

Vinicius Jr often switches positions with Brazil’s left-winger to attack from his favorite area down the wing. —

Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 5 June 2026 Then the service switches to 60-minute intervals. —

Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 31 May 2026 In addition to Kleinschmidt, 44, and Baeumler, 48, who switches over to being a mentor after several seasons of judging, the new season welcomes Renovation Aloha's Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama as the main scrutinizers of the weekly makeovers. —

Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026 Twenty lift motors handle takeoff and landing, then the aircraft switches to forward flight using its wings for better efficiency. —

Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026 Some drivers may not know that and operate their plug-in hybrid like a regular hybrid car, which also switches between gas and electric power but doesn't have a charging option. —

Keith Laing, USA Today, 26 May 2026 Largely told in a dour naturalistic visual language, Barnard switches things up for one a classically beautiful image of lights shimmering on water. —

Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 20 May 2026 That provides access to the Breville+ app, which offers hundreds of recipes and an Autopilot feature that walks you through the recipes and automatically switches the oven between cooking modes. —

Bestreviews, Mercury News, 20 May 2026 Pissed, Mary switches the set off. —

Literary Hub, 18 May 2026

Noun

My bill to ban Glock switches was never referred, my bill to set an age at 18 for constitutional carry in Missouri was also never referred to a committee. —

Ben Wheeler june 12, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026 Beneath the hot-swappable Keychron APEX switches are south-facing RGB LEDs which are fully customizable. —

Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026 Check the base of the beater shaft, rims around the motor housing, ventilation openings, and control knobs and switches. —

Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 June 2026 Before long, the living room is reduced to a bare stage, upon which only a couple of pulleys and switches are visible. —

Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 How pancreatic cancer spreads within the body Typically, RAS proteins function as molecular switches that control a cell's growth, division and survival. —

Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 8 June 2026 Managing a modern human life requires way too many mental context switches. —

Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 8 June 2026 But there are also a lot of switches that suck. —

Tc Sottek, The Verge, 27 May 2026 That central screen can of course do Apple CarPlay, but what's neat about it is that it's got physical switches for adjusting temperature, seat heating and cooling, and other functions – and they're beautifully integrated into the system for quick and intuitive interactions. —

New Atlas, 26 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for switches

Verb

That’s the idea behind scentscaping — a growing approach to home fragrance that swaps synthetic plug-ins and aerosol sprays for natural, intentional scent.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 9 June 2026
The second step introduces a two-carbon form of amine (a common ingredient in a wide array of products) and a copper catalyst, which swaps amine groups in where the bromine atoms were.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 8 June 2026