Plug vs. Switch

Plugnoun

(electricity) A pronged connecting device which fits into a mating socket.

‘I pushed the plug back into the electrical socket and the lamp began to glow again.’;

Switchnoun

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

Plugnoun

Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole.

‘Pull the plug out of the tub so it can drain.’;

Switchnoun

A change.

Plugnoun

(US) A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco.

‘He preferred a plug of tobacco to loose chaw.’;

Switchnoun

A movable section of railroad track which allows the train to be directed down one of two destination tracks; point.

Plugnoun

A high, tapering silk hat.

Switchnoun

A slender woody plant stem used as a whip; a thin, flexible rod, associated with corporal punishment in the United States.

Plugnoun

A worthless horse.

‘That sorry old plug is ready for the glue factory!’;

Switchnoun

(computer science) A command line notation allowing specification of optional behavior.

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

Plugnoun

(dated) Any worn-out or useless article.

Switchnoun

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

Plugnoun

(construction) A block of wood let into a wall to afford a hold for nails.

Switchnoun

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.

Plugnoun

(slang) A mention of a product (usually a book, film or play) in an interview, or an interview which features one or more of these.

‘During the interview, the author put in a plug for his latest novel.’;

Switchnoun

(telecommunication) A system of specialized relays, computer hardware, or other equipment which allows the interconnection of a calling party's telephone line with any called party's line.

Plugnoun

(geology) A body of once molten rock that hardened in a volcanic vent. Usually round or oval in shape.

‘Pressure built beneath the plug in the caldera, eventually resulting in a catastrophic explosion of pyroclastic shrapnel and ash.’;

Switchnoun

(BDSM) One who is willing to take either a submissive or a dominant role in a sexual relationship.

Plugnoun

(fishing) A type of lure consisting of a rigid, buoyant or semi-buoyant body and one or more hooks.

‘The fisherman cast the plug into a likely pool, hoping to catch a whopper.’;

Switchverb

(transitive) To exchange.

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

Plugnoun

(horticulture) A small seedling grown in a tray from expanded polystyrene or polythene filled usually with a peat or compost substrate.

Switchverb

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

‘Switch the light on.’;

Plugnoun

(jewellery) A short cylindrical piece of jewellery commonly worn in larger-gauge body piercings, especially in the ear.

Switchverb

(transitive) To whip or hit with a switch.

Plugnoun

(slang) A drug dealer.

Switchverb

(intransitive) To change places, tasks, etc.

‘I want to switch to a different seat.’;

Plugnoun

A branch from a water-pipe to supply a hose.

Switchverb

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

Plugverb

(transitive) To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.

‘He attempted to plug the leaks with some caulk.’;

Switchverb

To swing or whisk.

‘to switch a cane’;

Plugverb

(transitive) To blatantly mention a particular product or service as if advertising it.

‘The main guest on the show just kept plugging his latest movie: it got so tiresome.’;

Switchverb

To be swung or whisked.

‘The angry cat's tail switched back and forth.’;

Plugverb

To persist or continue with something.

‘Keep plugging at the problem until you find a solution.’;

Switchverb

To trim.

‘to switch a hedge’;

Plugverb

(transitive) To shoot a bullet into something with a gun.

Switchverb

To turn from one railway track to another; to transfer by a switch; generally with off, from, etc.

‘to switch off a train; to switch a car from one track to another’;

Plugverb

To have sex with, penetrate sexually.

‘I'd love to plug him.’;

Switchverb

(ecclesiastical) To shift to another circuit.

Plugnoun

Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole; a stopple.

Switchadjective

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

Plugnoun

A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco.

Switchadjective

Pertaining to skiing backwards.

Plugnoun

A high, tapering silk hat.

Switchnoun

A small, flexible twig or rod.

‘Mauritania, on the fifth medal, leads a horse with something like a thread; in her other hand she holds a switch.’;

Plugnoun

A worthless horse.

Switchnoun

A movable part of a rail; or of opposite rails, for transferring cars from one track to another.

Plugnoun

A block of wood let into a wall, to afford a hold for nails.

Switchnoun

A separate mass or trees of hair, or of some substance (at jute) made to resemble hair, worn on the head by women.

Plugverb

To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.

Switchnoun

A device for shifting an electric current to another circuit, or for making and breaking a circuit.

Plugnoun

blockage consisting of an object designed to fill a hole tightly

Switchverb

To strike with a switch or small flexible rod; to whip.

Plugnoun

a wad of something chewable as tobacco

Switchverb

To swing or whisk; as, to switch a cane.

Plugnoun

blatant or sensational promotion

Switchverb

To trim, as, a hedge.

Plugnoun

electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal-combustion engine and ignites the gas by means of an electric spark

Switchverb

To turn from one railway track to another; to transfer by a switch; - generally with off, from, etc.; as, to switch off a train; to switch a car from one track to another.

Plugnoun

an electrical device with two or three pins that is inserted in a socket to make an electrical connection

Switchverb

To shift to another circuit.

Plugnoun

an upright hydrant for drawing water to use in fighting a fire

Switchverb

To walk with a jerk.

Plugnoun

an old or over-worked horse

Switchnoun

control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit

Plugverb

fill or close tightly with or as if with a plug;

‘plug the hole’; ‘stop up the leak’;

Switchnoun

an event in which one thing is substituted for another;

‘the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood’;

Plugverb

persist in working hard;

‘Students must plug away at this problem’;

Switchnoun

hairpiece consisting of a tress of false hair; used by women to give shape to a coiffure

Plugverb

deliver a quick blow to;

‘he punched me in the stomach’;

Switchnoun

railroad track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock

Plugverb

make a plug for; praise the qualities or in order to sell or promote

Switchnoun

a flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment

Switchnoun

a basketball maneuver; two defensive players shift assignments so that each guards the player usually guarded by the other

Switchnoun

the act of changing one thing or position for another;

‘his switch on abortion cost him the election’;

Switchverb

change over, change around, or switch over

Switchverb

exchange or give (something) in exchange for

Switchverb

lay aside, abandon, or leave for another;

‘switch to a different brand of beer’; ‘She switched psychiatrists’; ‘The car changed lanes’;

Switchverb

make a shift in or exchange of;

‘First Joe led; then we switched’;

Switchverb

cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation;

‘switch on the light’; ‘throw the lever’;

Switchverb

flog with or as if with a flexible rod

Switchverb

reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

Switchnoun

a device for making and breaking the connection in an electric circuit

‘the guard hit a switch and the gate swung open’;

Switchnoun

a program variable which activates or deactivates a certain function of a program.

Switchnoun

a device which forwards data packets to an appropriate part of the network.

Switchnoun

an act of changing to or adopting one thing in place of another

‘his friends were surprised at his switch from newspaper owner to farmer’;

Switchnoun

a slender, flexible shoot cut from a tree.

Switchnoun

a set of points on a railway track.

Switchnoun

a tress of false or detached hair tied at one end, used in hairdressing to supplement natural hair.

Switchverb

change the position, direction, or focus of

‘the company switched the boats to other routes’;

Switchverb

adopt (something different) in place of something else; change

‘she worked as a librarian and then switched to journalism’; ‘she's managed to switch careers’;

Switchverb

substitute (two items) for each other; exchange

‘after ten minutes, listener and speaker switch roles’;

Switchverb

beat or flick with or as if with a switch.

Switch

In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of switch is an electromechanical device consisting of one or more sets of movable electrical contacts connected to external circuits.