switch
n. countablen. a small device you press or turn to start or stop something, like a light. It can also mean a sudden change from one thing to another.
n. a device for making and breaking the connection in an electric circuit, or a sudden change from one state or thing to another. In computing, it refers to a device that connects multiple computers on a network.
Please flip the switch to turn on the light.
The company made a sudden switch to a new software system last month.
The network switch manages data traffic between the servers, ensuring that information reaches the correct destination without causing congestion on the local network.
Perhaps from Middle Dutch swijch (“twig”), first attested in c. 1592. The mechanical device for altering the direction of something sense is first attested in c. 1797, pertaining to pivoted rails on minecart railways, which were once wooden.
Commonly used with the verbs 'flip', 'toggle', or 'make' ('make a switch').