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switch on

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switch on

 

1. [for something] to turn itself on. Exactly at midnight, the lights switched on. The radio switched on early in the morning to wake us up.

2. Sl. [for someone] to become alert or excited. The wild music made all the kids switch on and start to dance. About midnight, Ed switches on and becomes a real devil.

See also: on, switch

switch something on

to close an electrical circuit that causes something to start functioning or operating. Please switch the fan on. I switched on the fan.

See also: on, switch

switch on

Produce as if operating by a control, as in She switched on the charm as soon as he walked in. [Mid-1900s] Also see switch off.

See also: on, switch

switch on

v.

To activate something using a switch: We switched on the lights and entered the room. I switched the fan on to cool down the kitchen.

See also: on, switch

switch on

1. in. to come alive. She saw her child and immediately switched on.

2. in. to become modern and participate in current fads and events. Most kids I know switched on when they went to high school.

3. in. to get high on drugs; to begin taking LSD or some other hallucinogens. (see also turn on, switched on.) There was some old man who seemed to get pleasure from getting kids to switch on. Maybe he was a dealer.

See also: on, switch