ex|change

ex|change «ehks CHAYNJ», verb, -changed, -chang|ing, noun.

–v.t.

1. to give (one thing) for another; change: »

She would not exchange her house for a palace.

2. to give in trade for something regarded as equivalent; barter; swap: »

I will exchange two dimes for twenty pennies.

3. to give and receive (things of the same kind): »

to exchange letters. You two boys exchange places. The two boxers exchanged blows.

4. to replace or have replaced (a purchase): »

We can exchange no yard goods.

–v.i.

1. to make an exchange.

2. to pass or be taken in exchange or as an equivalent.

–n.

1. a giving up of one thing and receiving or taking another for it; an exchanging: »

Ten pennies for a dime is a fair exchange. During the truce there was an exchange of prisoners.

2. a person or thing given or received in exchange for another, or as a substitute.

3. a place where things are exchanged. Stocks are bought, sold, and traded in a stock exchange.

4. a central station or office. A telephone exchange handles telephone calls.

5. a) a system of settling accounts in different places by exchanging bills of exchange that represent money instead of exchanging money itself. b) the payment of debts or obligations in different places by this method.

6. a changing of the money of one country into the money of equivalent value of another.

7. the fee charged for settling accounts, for changing money, or for transferring funds.

8. a) the rate of exchange; a varying rate or sum in one currency given for a fixed sum in another currency. b) the amount of the difference in rates of exchange.

9. a) the checks, drafts, or bills exchanged in a clearing house. b) = bill of exchange. (Cf. ↑bill of exchange)

10. British. a labor exchange.

╂[< Old French eschangier to exchange < Vulgar Latin excambiāre < Latin ex- out + cambiār to change < a Gaulish word]

Synonym Study transitive verb. 1, 2, 3 Exchange, interchange mean to give and take. Exchange implies trading, giving one thing and getting back something else: »

He exchanged his independence for the chance to make more money.

Interchange implies trading evenly, giving and receiving by turn and in equal amount or value: »

People of different countries interchange ideas.