switchyard

noun

switch·​yard ˈswich-ˌyärd How to pronounce switchyard (audio)
: a usually enclosed area for the switching facilities of a power station

Examples of switchyard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Ranchers Donna and Joe Tisdale of Boulevard object to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ approval of the Boulder Brush Project that plans to build a high-voltage substation, a switchyard and an overhead transmission line along a 320-acre corridor on private land. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024 The switchyard runs parallel to New Mexico’s primary east-west interstate, creating a half-mile-wide chasm for pedestrians between Gallup’s historic downtown and the newer stores and restaurants on the other side. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 The lines carry electricity from power plants to switchyards to substations and then to neighborhoods. The Arizona Republic, 23 Jan. 2024 Since the birth of modern power grids, millions of transformers on street poles and in switchyards have underpinned the practicality of alternating current. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Dec. 2022 The Morro Bay power station would house around 180,000 battery modules that would hold energy produced elsewhere and release it to the power grid via an existing PG&E switchyard adjacent to the site. Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2022 The energy park will also include a 70-megawatt storage facility powered by lithium-ion batteries, an on-site substation and a switchyard. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2022 The only other structures will be a seawall 28 feet high, as measured at average low tide at San Onofre Beach; a walkway connecting two beaches north and south of the plant, and a switchyard with power lines. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2021 There is a new switchyard and waste water treatment plant. J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Nov. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of switchyard was in 1943

Dictionary Entries Near switchyard

Cite this Entry

“Switchyard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchyard. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

switchyard

noun
switch·​yard -ˌyärd How to pronounce switchyard (audio)
: a place where railroad cars are switched from one track to another and trains are made up
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