Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small switch.
  • noun A switchman.
  • noun A switching-engine.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun rail transport, US A railway locomotive used for shunting; a shunter.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who administers punishment by wielding a switch or whip

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

switch +‎ -er

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Examples

  • His stated rationale feels like it was copy-and-pasted from the party switchers of yore, but normally when this happens the switcher is some kind of veteran legislator protesting that his old party has become too extreme.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Weirdness of Parker Griffith 2009

  • Any party switcher is automatically suspect, but this guy is trying to out-Specter, Specter.

    Democratic party abandoning Kendrick Meek in FL-SEN? | RedState 2010

  • A party switcher is no longer representing the people who voted for him. cecilia lewis

    Parker Griffith's staff resigns 2010

  • Still more qualified than ever than sarah palin half term governor making around $100,000/year and then dumping her state and people to go make 12 million last year ... apparently palin an addictive college dropout/switcher is more qualified than a Harvard constituitional law professor, and senator .... and you wonder why Democrats think the average Republican is a Dunce!!!

    Obama tours, praises ethanol plant 2010

  • It involved a switcher, something we call a switcher -- we will get to that in a minute -- it's a machine that we use to switch between visual elements.

    CNN Transcript Nov 22, 2005 2005

  • My Grandfather, who was a locomotive design engineer with B. & O., salvaged a diesel-electric switcher from the yard in the early 50’s and used the engine and generator combination to heat and power his house from about October to March (in Baltimore), he used his heating system as a radiator for the engine and exhaust (water jacket), no furnace.

    Think Progress » LEAKED MEMO: Coal Industry Coordinating Propaganda Blitz Attacking Global Warming Science 2006

  • So we have to go through something called a switcher so that we can -- we'll actually effectively direct the show from here by cutting one camera off and then that camera.

    CNN Transcript Sep 25, 2009 2009

  • QML has also been adopted to power some new features in KWin, such as the much-improved keyboard window switcher, which is now configurable and supports several visual styles.

    Ars Technica Ryan Paul 2012

  • If you are a so called switcher from Windows PC to Mac the Missing manual for Snow Leopard and the Missing manual for iWork is a good investment.

    Discussions: Message List - root 2010

  • "The switcher is the heart of the production facility, and our experience with Ross has been excellent," said Jake Bosmeijer, Chief Engineer, Calvin College.

    The Broadcast Industry News Service - broadcastbuyer.tv News RSS Feed 2009

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