How to Use switchboard in a Sentence

switchboard

noun
  • She used to work as a switchboard operator.
  • Those switchboard jobs are a thing of the past now, but they weren’t phased out overnight.
    — Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Klekamp and his brothers worked at the school's switchboard and cleaned the gym and the physics lab.
    — Leyla Shokoohe, The Enquirer, 27 Nov. 2022
  • At 16, his first full-time job was on the station's switchboard.
    — Karen Bliss, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2018
  • There’s a couple of pumps involved, a switchboard, the whole deal.
    — Nancy Ngo, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2017
  • Next to the switchboard was an old photo of a young woman working it.
    — Erik Lacitis, The Seattle Times, 16 June 2018
  • The Moog, which looked a telephone switchboard, was heavy but mobile.
    — Michael S. Rosenwald, Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2022
  • Strowger stomped down to the local exchange, complained and looked at the switchboard.
    — Darryl Levings, kansascity, 2 June 2018
  • Then a whole bank of dimmers on the switchboard unaccountably fused.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The controllers ran the gamut this year from puppets to switchboards to an actual coffin.
    — Julie Muncy, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2018
  • In the past, the squadron’s job was like that of a fancy telephone switchboard operator.
    — David Montgomery, Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2019
  • Had this been a busier day, the company no doubt would have had thousands of irate customers clogging its switchboard.
    — David Lazarus, WIRED, 24 Feb. 1999
  • Philip Rivers has gotten more phone calls than the Pentagon switchboard.
    — Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2022
  • Staff are invited by word of mouth, email and even through announcements over the intercom switchboard.
    — Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, 14 Apr. 2020
  • Her own experience at Keeneland dates to her high school days, and seasonal stints on the switchboard.
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 3 July 2020
  • The headphone jack traces its history to over 100 years ago, when it was used in telephone switchboards.
    — The Tylt, cleveland.com, 3 Aug. 2017
  • Adjacent to it was a building housing one of the capital’s main switchboards.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2020
  • When a Topeka outfit was caught with infringing equipment, the switchboard was burned in the street to make a point.
    — Darryl Levings, kansascity, 2 June 2018
  • Think of the Zero Trust Exchange as a modern-day switchboard.
    — Zeus Kerravala, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The brain has been likened to a computer network or a telephone switchboard, but that model is misleading.
    — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 Aug. 2017
  • Think of Ref-1 like a switchboard operator for cancer genes.
    — New Atlas, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss that led to its steering failure.
    — ABC News, 17 June 2026
  • However, those who don't have his number must go through the switchboard -- and Kelly -- and have had a much a more difficult time.
    — Kevin Liptak, CNN, 1 Sep. 2017
  • Adjoining the box office in a small room containing a switchboard on which are mounted switches for all the lights to be controlled from the box office.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2022
  • The defective design and construction of the switchboard led to the power outage causing the crash, the lawsuit read.
    — Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Take for instance the switchboard, the microphones, or the satellites that adorn the structure’s exterior.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 16 Oct. 2021
  • According to Politico, the prankster called the White House switchboard and was told the president could not be reached.
    — Kevin Kelleher, Fortune, 29 June 2018
  • The News switchboard was a Christmas tree of lights, and another operator had to be called to help handle the calls.
    — Dallas News, 6 June 2019
  • And of course, there are other famous examples, such as telephone switchboard operators.
    — Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
  • Flett remembers feeling vindicated as the number of calls briefly overwhelmed the switchboard.
    — Leslie Jamison, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'switchboard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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