Switch vs. Turn — What's the Difference?

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.

To cause to move around an axis or center; cause to rotate or revolve

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

To cause to move around in order to achieve a result, such as opening, closing, tightening, or loosening

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

To alter or control the functioning of (a mechanical device, for example) by the use of a rotating or similar movement

A slender, flexible shoot cut from a tree.

To perform or accomplish by rotating or revolving

A set of points on a railway track.

To change the position of so that the underside becomes the upper side

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

To spade or plow (soil) to bring the undersoil to the surface.

Change the position, direction, or focus of

To reverse and resew the material of (a collar, for example).

Beat or flick with or as if with a switch.

To revolve in the mind; meditate on; ponder

An exchange or a swap, especially one done secretly.

To give a rounded form to (wood, for example) by rotating against a cutting tool.

A transference or shift, as of opinion or attention.

To give a rounded shape to (clay, for example) by rotating and shaping with the hands or tools.

A device used to break or open an electric circuit or to divert current from one conductor to another.

To give a rounded form to

A device consisting of two sections of railroad track and accompanying apparatus used to transfer rolling stock from one track to another.

To give distinctive, artistic, or graceful form to

A slender flexible rod, stick, or twig, especially one used for whipping.

To change the position of by traversing an arc of a circle; pivot

The bushy tip of the tail of certain animals

To present in a specified direction by rotating or pivoting

A thick strand of real or synthetic hair used as part of a coiffure.

To cause (a scale) to move up or down so as to register weight

A flailing or lashing, as with a slender rod

To fold, bend, or twist (something).

To exchange

To change the position or disposition of by folding, bending, or twisting

To shift, transfer, or divert

To make a bend or curve in

To connect, disconnect, or divert (an electric current) by operating a switch.

To blunt or dull (the edge of a cutting instrument).

To cause (an electric current or appliance) to begin or cease operation

To injure by twisting

(Informal) To produce as if by operating a control. Often used with on

To upset or make nauseated

To move (rolling stock) from one track to another; shunt.

To change the direction or course of

To whip with a switch, especially in punishing a child.

To divert or deflect

To jerk or swish abruptly or sharply

To reverse the course of; cause to retreat

To make or undergo a shift or an exchange

To make a course around or about

To swish sharply from side to side.

To reach and pass (a specified age)

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

To change the purpose, intention, or content of by persuasion or influence

A change or exchange.

To change the order or disposition of; unsettle

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

To aim or focus

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

To devote or apply (oneself, for example) to something

(musical instruments) rute.

To cause to act or go against; make antagonistic

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

To cause to go in a specific direction; direct

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

To send, drive, or let go

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.

To pour, let fall, or otherwise release (contents) from or into a receptacle

(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.

To cause to take on a specified character, nature, identity, or appearance; change or transform. Used with to or into

(genetics) A mechanism within DNA that activates or deactivates a gene.

To affect or change the color of

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

To make sour; ferment

(historical) A separate mass or tress of hair, or of some substance (such as jute) made to resemble hair, formerly worn on the head by women.

To exchange; convert. Used with to or into

(card games) A variant of crazy eights where one card, such as an ace, reverses the direction of play.

To keep in circulation; sell and restock

(transitive) To exchange.

To make use of

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

To get by buying and selling

To whip or hit with a switch.

To perform successfully; complete

(intransitive) To change places, tasks, etc.

(Slang) To perform (an act of prostitution)

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

To move around an axis or center; rotate or revolve.

To swing or whisk.

To have a sensation of revolving or whirling, especially as a result of dizziness or giddiness

To be swung or whisked.

To change position from side to side or back and forth

To trim.

To progress through pages so as to arrive at a given place

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

To operate a lathe.

(ecclesiastical) To shift to another circuit.

To be formed on a lathe

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

To direct one's way or course

Pertaining to skiing backwards.

To change or reverse one's way, course, or direction

A small, flexible twig or rod.

To change one's actions or attitudes adversely; become hostile or antagonistic

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

To attack suddenly and violently with no apparent motive

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

To channel one's attention, interest, or thought toward or away from something

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

To devote or apply oneself to something, as to a field of study

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

To convert to a religion.

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

To switch one's loyalty from one side or party to another.

To trim, as, a hedge.

To have recourse to a person or thing for help, support, or information

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.

To start to use (something) as a solution to a problem or relief of distress

To shift to another circuit.

To depend on something for success or failure; hinge

To walk with a jerk.

To change so as to be; become

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

To change; become transformed. Used with to or into

An event in which one thing is substituted for another;

To change color

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

To become sour

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

To be stocked and sold

A flexible implement used as an instrument of punishment

To become dull or blunt by bending back. Used of the edge of a cutting instrument.

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

The act of turning or the condition of being turned; rotation or revolution.

The act of changing one thing or position for another;

A change of direction, motion, or position

Change over, change around, or switch over

A place, as in a road or path, where a change in direction occurs; a curve

Exchange or give (something) in exchange for

A change or deviation, as in a trend

Lay aside, abandon, or leave for another;

A change or development in a particular way

Make a shift in or exchange of;

A variation of a given kind or type

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

A point marking the end of one period of time and the beginning of the next

Flog with or as if with a flexible rod

The midway point in a round of 18 holes of golf, at which the first set of nine holes has been completed.

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

A period of participation

A chance or opportunity

One of a series of such opportunities accorded people in succession or in scheduled order

An attack of illness or severe nervousness.

A momentary shock or scare

A characteristic mood, style, or habit; a natural inclination

A distinctive, graceful, or artistic expression or arrangement of words

A deed or action having a good or bad effect on another

A short walk or excursion out and back

A single wind or convolution, as of wire on a spool.

(Music) A figure or ornament, usually consisting of four or more notes in rapid succession and including the principal note, the one a degree above it, and the one a degree below it.

A brief theatrical act or stage appearance.

A transaction on the stock market involving both a sale and a purchase.

The fourth community card in Texas hold'em.

Upper Southern & South Atlantic US An amount that can be carried or transported in one load

To make a non-linear physical movement.

(intransitive) Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself.

(transitive) To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

(intransitive) To change one's direction of travel.

(transitive) To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.

(by extension) To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.

(transitive) To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.

To navigate through a book or other printed material.

Of a bowler, to make (the ball) move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

Of a ball, to move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

(intransitive) To change condition or attitude.

(copulative) To become begin to be.

(intransitive) To change the color of the leaves in the autumn.

To change fundamentally; to metamorphose.

To reach a certain age.

To hinge; to depend.

To rebel; to go against something formerly tolerated.

To change personal condition.

To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.

To complete.

(transitive) To make (money); turn a profit.

Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.

(obstetrics) To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

(archaic) To translate.

To magically or divinely attack undead.

A change of direction or orientation.

A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.

(geometry) A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.

A walk to and fro.

A chance to use (something) shared in sequence with others.

A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule.

One's chance to make a move in a game having two or more players.

A figure in music, often denoted ~, consisting of the note above the one indicated, the note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again.

The time required to complete a project.

A fit or a period of giddiness.

A change in temperament or circumstance.

(cricket) A sideways movement of the ball when it bounces (caused by rotation in flight).

(poker) The fourth communal card in Texas hold 'em.

The flop (the first three community cards) in Texas hold 'em.

A deed done to another; an act of kindness or malice.

A single loop of a coil.

(rope) A pass behind or through an object.

Character; personality; nature.

(soccer) An instance of going past an opposition player with the ball in one's control.

A short skit, act, or routine.

A type turned upside down to serve for another character that is not available.

The profit made by a stockjobber, being the difference between the buying and selling prices.

To cause to move upon a center, or as if upon a center; to give circular motion to; to cause to revolve; to cause to move round, either partially, wholly, or repeatedly; to make to change position so as to present other sides in given directions; to make to face otherwise; as, to turn a wheel or a spindle; to turn the body or the head.

To cause to present a different side uppermost or outmost; to make the upper side the lower, or the inside to be the outside of; to reverse the position of; as, to turn a box or a board; to turn a coat.

To give another direction, tendency, or inclination to; to direct otherwise; to deflect; to incline differently; - used both literally and figuratively; as, to turn the eyes to the heavens; to turn a horse from the road, or a ship from her course; to turn the attention to or from something.

To change from a given use or office; to divert, as to another purpose or end; to transfer; to use or employ; to apply; to devote.

To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; - often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.

To form in a lathe; to shape or fashion (anything) by applying a cutting tool to it while revolving; as, to turn the legs of stools or tables; to turn ivory or metal.

Hence, to give form to; to shape; to mold; to put in proper condition; to adapt.

To translate; to construe; as, to turn the Iliad.

To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle, etc.: as, to turn cider or wine; electricity turns milk quickly.

To make a turn about or around (something); to go or pass around by turning; as, to turn a corner.

To sicken; to nauseate; as, an emetic turns one's stomach.

To move round; to have a circular motion; to revolve entirely, repeatedly, or partially; to change position, so as to face differently; to whirl or wheel round; as, a wheel turns on its axis; a spindle turns on a pivot; a man turns on his heel.

Hence, to revolve as if upon a point of support; to hinge; to depend; as, the decision turns on a single fact.

To result or terminate; to come about; to eventuate; to issue.

To be deflected; to take a different direction or tendency; to be directed otherwise; to be differently applied; to be transferred; as, to turn from the road.

To be changed, altered, or transformed; to become transmuted; also, to become by a change or changes; to grow; as, wood turns to stone; water turns to ice; one color turns to another; to turn Muslim.

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe; as, ivory turns well.

To become acid; to sour; - said of milk, ale, etc.

To become giddy; - said of the head or brain.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

To be nauseated; - said of the stomach.

To become inclined in the other direction; - said of scales.

To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; - said of the tide.

To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

The act of turning; movement or motion about, or as if about, a center or axis; revolution; as, the turn of a wheel.

Change of direction, course, or tendency; different order, position, or aspect of affairs; alteration; vicissitude; as, the turn of the tide.

One of the successive portions of a course, or of a series of occurrences, reckoning from change to change; hence, a winding; a bend; a meander.

A circuitous walk, or a walk to and fro, ending where it began; a short walk; a stroll.

Successive course; opportunity enjoyed by alternation with another or with others, or in due order; due chance; alternate or incidental occasion; appropriate time.

Incidental or opportune deed or office; occasional act of kindness or malice; as, to do one an ill turn.

Convenience; occasion; purpose; exigence; as, this will not serve his turn.

Form; cast; shape; manner; fashion; - used in a literal or figurative sense; hence, form of expression; mode of signifying; as, the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.

A change of condition; especially, a sudden or recurring symptom of illness, as a nervous shock, or fainting spell; as, a bad turn.

A fall off the ladder at the gallows; a hanging; - so called from the practice of causing the criminal to stand on a ladder which was turned over, so throwing him off, when the signal was given.

A round of a rope or cord in order to secure it, as about a pin or a cleat.

A pit sunk in some part of a drift.

A court of record, held by the sheriff twice a year in every hundred within his county.

Monthly courses; menses.

An embellishment or grace (marked thus, ), commonly consisting of the principal note, or that on which the turn is made, with the note above, and the semitone below, the note above being sounded first, the principal note next, and the semitone below last, the three being performed quickly, as a triplet preceding the marked note. The turn may be inverted so as to begin with the lower note, in which case the sign is either placed on end thus , or drawn thus .

A circular segment of a curve;

The act of changing or reversing the direction of the course;

The activity of doing something in an agreed succession;

An unforeseen development;

A movement in a new direction;

Turning away or in the opposite direction;

Turning or twisting around (in place);

A time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else);

(sports) a period of play during which one team is on the offensive

A short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program;

A favor for someone;

Taking a short walk out and back;

Change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense;

Undergo a change or development;

Undergo a transformation or a change of position or action;

Cause to move around or rotate;

Pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become;

To send or let go;

Pass to the other side of;

Move around an axis or a center;

Cause to move around a center so as to show another side of;

Change to the contrary;

To break and turn over earth especially with a plow;

Change color;

Cause to change or turn into something different;assume new characteristics;

Let (something) fall or spill a container;

Twist suddenly so as to sprain;

Shape by rotating on a lathe or cutting device or a wheel;

Go sour or spoil;

Accomplish by rotating;

Get by buying and selling;

Cause to move along an axis or into a new direction;

Channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something;

Cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form;

Alter the functioning or setting of;

Direct at someone;

Have recourse to or make an appeal or request for help or information to;

Become officially one year older;