Meaning & use
flip the switch
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To press a switch with your finger to turn a light or machine on or off.
Grammar: Takes the fixed object the switch: she flips the switch, she flipped the switch.
Patterns
- flip the switch on something
- flip the switch to turn something on
She flipped the switch and the whole room lit up.
Before leaving, he flipped the switch to turn the heater off.
The electrician told us to flip the switch back on after ten minutes.
phraseidiomfigurative
To suddenly change your mood, behavior or level of effort, as easily as turning a light on or off.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often as a flip the switch moment: the player flipped the switch in the second half.
Patterns
- flip the switch and do something
The team flipped the switch after halftime and scored three goals.
He can flip the switch from joking to serious in a second.
It is hard to flip the switch between work and relaxation.
Word forms
| third person singular | flips the switch |
|---|---|
| past tense | flipped the switch |
| -ing form | flipping the switch |
Common combinations
- flip the switch on
- The mayor flipped the switch on the new streetlights.
- flip the light switch
- I flipped the light switch, but nothing happened.
- flip the switch off
- Please flip the switch off when you leave.
- seem to flip a switch
- He seemed to flip a switch and become calm.
- flip the switch from one thing to another
- She can flip the switch from teacher to friend easily.
Synonyms and how they differ
- turn on
- Turn on is the general phrase for starting a device, while flip the switch names the exact physical action of using a switch.
- switch on
- Switch on is more British and does not suggest the quick finger movement of flip.
- change gear
- Change gear is only figurative and implies a gradual shift, where flip the switch implies an instant one.
- turn it on
- Turn it on is informal and used for sudden effort or charm, but it has no clear physical image.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: flip the switch or flip out?
flip the switch vs flip out
Flip out means to become very angry or upset, while flip the switch means to turn something on or off or to change suddenly.
Practice
The coach said the players seemed to ______ at halftime and suddenly played much better.
Choose one answer.
Flip the switch here means a sudden change in effort. Drop the ball would suggest a mistake, which is the opposite of playing better.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flip the switch”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.