1. a panel with switches and plugs used to connect telephone calls manually
Usage: historical; telecommunications
2. a central control panel with switches for directing electrical circuits or communications
Usage: technical

Examples

• The hotel switchboard operator connected guests to their rooms.
• She worked at the telephone company switchboard in the 1950s.
• The building’s electrical switchboard controls power to all floors.
• Emergency calls flooded the hospital switchboard during the crisis.
• The old switchboard required operators to manually plug in cables.
• Modern phone systems have replaced traditional switchboards.
• The switchboard lit up with incoming calls after the announcement.