n. 1
A command line notation allowing specification of optional behavior.
Use the /b switch to specify black-and-white printing.
n. 2
A device to turn electric current on and off or direct its flow.
v. 1
To exchange.
I want to switch this red dress for a green one.
v. 2
To change (something) to the specified state using a switch.

Related words

Word family: switchback switchboard switch-hitter switchman switchy switcher
Phrases: switch out switch off switch on switch engine bait and switch dimmer switch on-off switch toggle switch

Forms

Plural: switches → replacements, substitutions, transpositions, permutations…
Past participle: switched
e.g. switched → interchanged, flip-flopped, alternated, tacked…

permutation Every possible permutation of our world exists in a separate universe.
crop Algeria needs more crop-yielding productive lands.
scissors The scissors are blunt. They need to be sharpened.

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

3 letters: rod¹
4 letters: beat¹, flag¹, crop¹, flip¹, whip¹, swap¹, cane¹, tack¹, twig¹, flog¹, rute
5 letters: trade¹, stick¹, throw¹, shift¹, birch¹, shunt¹
6 letters: change¹, points¹, option², branch¹, swinge
7 letters: convert², commute²
8 letters: exchange², scissors²
9 letters: alternate³, transpose², specifier
10 letters: substitute³
11 letters: replacement³, interchange³, permutation⁴
12 letters: substitution⁴
13 letters: transposition, counterchange

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (option² = 2 syllables).