Okuzeka
Office & Administration vocabulary · Phone Calls & Etiquette

Switchboard

Meaning in office & administration, with examples

/ˈswɪtʃbɔːd/nounCommon term

In office & administration, switchboard means: The central phone system of an organisation, or the team that answers the main number and connects callers to the right extension.

In Turkish: santral, telefon santrali, santral görevlisi

How it is used

Callers go through the switchboard when they phone the main number. The switchboard operator answers and puts calls through. Many companies now use automated menus ("Press 1 for sales") instead of, or alongside, a staffed switchboard.

Example sentences

  1. If you don't know her extension, call the switchboard and ask for her by name.

  2. The switchboard closes at 6 p.m., so after that calls go to voicemail.

Common collocations

  • call the switchboard
  • switchboard operator
  • main switchboard
  • through the switchboard
  • extensionAn internal phone number connected to a company's main line, which lets callers reach a particular person or desk.
  • put throughTo connect a caller to the person or department they want to speak to by transferring the call.
  • receptionistA person who works at the main entrance desk of an office, hotel or clinic, greeting visitors, answering the phone and directing people to the right place.
  • the line is busyA phrase meaning that the phone you are calling is already in use, so the call cannot be connected right now.

More terms: Phone Calls & Etiquette

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: