switchboard operator
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈswɪtʃbɔrd ˈɑpəˌreɪtər/
- Archaic
:
operadora de centralita
- The switchboard operator efficiently connected all incoming calls to the right departments.
- working as a switchboard operator
B had just gone directly from the Country Club to the switchboard operator's house and just kicked that cat himself?
- B had just gone directly from the Country Club to the switchboard operator's house and just kicked that cat himself?
Examples
-
My grandmother served as a switchboard operator in World War 2.
-
I was a switchboard operator at the hotel.
-
The switchboard operator thinks for a moment.
Fiction book (1997) -
The switchboard operator pulls out a call sheet and finds a number.
Fiction book (1997) -
Rashida's Mama worked for the Nation of Islam during the day and as a switchboard operator at night.
Fiction book (1997) -
Enlisted women are mostly concentrated in telephone companies as switchboard operators at and above the army level.
Academic text (1993) -
The marriage hadn't worked out, and she was now working as a switchboard operator in Nashville.
Fiction book (1990) -
At first, the switchboard operator at the station balked at putting him through: "Mrs. Estes-Berg is out on location."
Fiction book (1999) -
As they enter, the switchboard operator glances up, notices them, and glances back down without a word.
Fiction book (1990) -
The young switchboard operator could hear the voices of the petrol attendants, laughing and arguing over a game of cards set out on the ground, and the jabber from their radio.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
2
2.2
A person who connects phone calls to the right person or service
A person who connects phone calls and directs callers to the right person
Surface Forms
Morphology
switchboard + operator
The phrase is fully compositional: 'switchboard' can be parsed as a board that switches (telephone lines) and 'operator' is a person who operates equipment, so 'switchboard operator' directly denotes a person who operates the switchboard. This follows common noun–noun compounding patterns and is predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Switchboard operator comes from old phone rooms where a worker sat at a switchboard, a board with many holes and wires, and plugged cables to join two callers. So, a switchboard operator is a person who 'connects' and directs phone calls.