an installation in a telephone exchange, office, hotel, etc, at which the interconnection of telephone lines is manually controlled an assembly of switchgear for the control of power supplies in an installation or building
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
switch•board /ˈswɪtʃˌbɔrd/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Electricity, Telecommunications, Telecommunicationsan electronic unit on which are mounted switches and instruments used to connect telephone calls by hand.
switch•board
(swich′bôrd′, -bōrd′),USA pronunciation n. [Elect.]
- Electricity, Telecommunications, Telecommunicationsa structural unit on which are mounted switches and instruments necessary to complete telephone circuits manually.
- Electricity, CinemaAlso called lightboard. a panel of switches, dimmers, etc., for controlling the lighting on a stage or in an auditorium.
- switch + board 1870–75, American.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'switchboard' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
board
- dial
- hands-on
- housephone
- lightboard
- on
- operate
- operator
- panel
- plugboard
- scene master
- switch
- telephonist
- unattended
- wiring