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exchange

Syllabification: (ex·change)
Pronunciation: /iksˈCHānj/

Translate exchange | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of exchange

noun

  • an act of giving one thing and receiving another (especially of the same type or value) in return:negotiations should eventually lead to an exchange of land for peace an exchange of prisoners of war opportunities for the exchange of information
  • a visit or visits in which two people or groups from different countries stay with each other or do each other’s jobs: [as modifier]:nine colleagues were away on an exchange visit to Germany
  • a short conversation; an argument:there was a heated exchange
  • the giving of money for its equivalent in the money of another country.
  • the fee or percentage charged for converting the currency of one country into that of another.
  • a system or market in which commercial transactions involving currency, shares, commodities, etc., can be carried out within or between countries. See also foreign exchange.
  • a central office or station of operations providing telephone service:private branch exchanges to automate internal telephone networks
  • Chess a move or short sequence of moves in which both players capture material of comparable value, or particularly (the exchange) in which one captures a rook in return for a knight or bishop (and is said to win the exchange).
  • a building or institution used for the trading of a particular commodity or commodities:the New York Stock Exchange

verb

[with object]
  • give something and receive something of the same kind in return:we exchanged addresses he exchanged a concerned glance with Stephen
  • give or receive one thing in place of another:we regret that tickets cannot be exchanged she exchanged her suburban housewife look for leathers and tattoos

Phrases

in exchange

as a thing exchanged:at 8, he was carrying bags of groceries in exchange for a nickel

Derivatives

exchangeability


noun

exchangeable

adjective

exchanger

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French eschange (noun), eschangier (verb), based on changer (see change). The spelling was influenced by Latin ex- 'out, utterly' (see ex-1)

exchange in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of exchange in the British & World English dictionary