switchboard

noun

switch·​board ˈswich-ˌbȯrd How to pronounce switchboard (audio)
: an apparatus (as in a telephone exchange) consisting of a panel on which are mounted electric switches so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected, combined, and controlled

Examples of switchboard in a Sentence

She used to work as a switchboard operator.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Watching Clark in the bustling newsroom of the Daily Planet has become a curiously bittersweet experience, given that Superman’s historical day job is threatening to become as obsolete as milkmen and switchboard operators. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 July 2025 Original warehouse lighting, distiller’s switchboards, and copper tanks from Owensboro are artfully integrated into the tasting room’s contemporary décor. Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025 During past technological revolutions, scientists, as well as popular culture, tended to explore the idea that the human brain could be understood as analogous to one new machine after another: a clock, a switchboard, a computer. Iddo Gefen, Twin Cities, 16 July 2025 What the threats said The most hostile threat came to the City Hall switchboard on the morning of Dec. 16, the day before the City Council was to vote on a zoning change for Morse Village. John Tuohy, IndyStar, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for switchboard

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of switchboard was in 1873

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Cite this Entry

“Switchboard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchboard. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

switchboard

noun
switch·​board -ˌbō(ə)rd How to pronounce switchboard (audio)
-ˌbȯ(ə)rd
: a device (as in a telephone exchange) consisting of a panel on which are mounted electric switches so arranged that a number of circuits may be connected, combined, and controlled

More from Merriam-Webster on switchboard

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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