toggle

Of uncertain origin. Possible alteration of tug (“to pull”) +‎ -le

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɒɡ.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑ.ɡəl/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɒɡəl

toggle (plural toggles)

1. (nautical) A wooden or metal pin, short rod, crosspiece or similar, fixed transversely in the eye of a rope or chain to be secured to any other loop, ring, or bight, e.g. a sea painter to a lifeboat.
2. (in particular, fashion) A rod-shaped button bound with slack to the fabric.
3. A toggle switch.
4. An appliance for transmitting force at right angles to its direction.
5. A horizontal piece of wood that is placed on a door, flat, or other wooden structure, but is not on one of the edges of the structure.
6. A fastener that has flaps that align vertically to penetrate a surface and then spread out to secure the fastener in position, e.g. a molly bolt.
   • 1991, Kalton C. Lahue, Cheryl Smith, Interior Lighting, page 19:

     Hooks come with screws for use in plaster or wood and toggles for use in wallboard.

7. (skydiving) A loop of webbing or a dowel affixed to the end of the steering/brake lines of a parachute providing the pilot with a means of control.

• frog

toggle (third-person singular simple present toggles, present participle toggling, simple past and past participle toggled)

1. To alternate between two positions using a single switch or lever.

   Clicking a button will alternately toggle its light on OR off.

2. To switch between alternate states.

   toggle to lower/upper case

   You can quickly toggle the case of selected text by pressing Alt+C.

   • 2022 October 22, Maureen Dowd, “Ralph Fiennes, Master of Monsters”, in The New York Times‎:

     He’s that rare creature who’s equally powerful in the classics and popular fare, who’s dedicated to toggling between stage and screen. He is both prolific and enigmatic, disappearing into a dazzling range of characters.

3. (nautical, transitive) To fix like a toggle iron; to fix fast.

• togglable, toggleable
• untoggle

• “toggle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• goglet