hookswitch

H4O1O1K5S1W4I1T1C3H4

noun

The spring-loaded button on a telephone that is depressed by the action of returning the handset to the cradle, thus terminating the call.

Similar
switchhook
Scrabble 25
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Meanings

nounhookswitch (plural hookswitches)

plural hookswitches · alternative hook switch

  1. The spring-loaded button on a telephone that is depressed by the action of returning the handset to the cradle, thus terminating the call.

    At 4 or 5, he learned to dial by using the hookswitch like a telegraph key.

    2007 August 20, Douglas Martin, “Joybubbles, 58, Peter Pan of Phone Hackers, Dies”, in New York Times

    Synonyms: switchhook

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe spring-loaded button on a telephone that is depressed by the action of returning the handset to the cradle, thus terminating the call.

Similar
switchhook
Also see
switchhook

Origin

From hook + switch.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Portuguese gancho
  • ganchotelephone button to terminate the call
Swedish klyka
  • klykatelephone button to terminate the call

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

switchhook
Cite this entry
APA

hookswitch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hookswitch

MLA

“hookswitch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hookswitch. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hookswitch,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hookswitch.

Source: hookswitch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.