exchange

American  

[iks-cheynj] / ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ /

verb (used with object)

• exchanges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exchanged,
  past participle,  past
• exchanging
  present participle

1. to give up (something) for something else; part with for some equivalent; change for another.

   Synonyms:

   swap, trade, barter, commute, interchange

2. to replace (returned merchandise) with an equivalent or something else.

   Most stores will allow the purchaser to exchange goods.

3. to give and receive reciprocally; interchange.

   to exchange blows; to exchange gifts.

4. to part with in return for some equivalent; transfer for a recompense; barter.

   to exchange goods with foreign countries.

5. Chess. to capture (an enemy piece) in return for a capture by the opponent generally of pieces of equal value.

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verb (used without object)

• exchanges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exchanged,
  past participle,  past
• exchanging
  present participle

1. to make an exchange; engage in bartering, replacing, or substituting one thing for another.

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

noun

• exchanges
  plural

1. the act, process, or an instance of exchanging.

   The contesting nations arranged for an exchange of prisoners; money in exchange for services.

   Synonyms:

   barter, commerce, business, traffic, trade, interchange

2. something that is given or received in exchange or substitution for something else.

   The car was a fair exchange.

3. a place for buying and selling commodities, securities, etc., typically open only to members.

   Synonyms:

   market

4. a central office or central station.

   a telephone exchange.

5. the method or system by which debits and credits in different places are settled without the actual transfer of money, by means of bills of exchange representing money values.

6. the discharge of obligations in different places by the transfer of credits.

7. the amount or percentage charged for exchanging money, collecting a draft, etc.

8. the reciprocal transfer of equivalent sums of money, as in the currencies of two different countries.

9. the giving or receiving of a sum of money in one place for a bill ordering the payment of an equivalent sum in another.

10. exchange rate.

11. the amount of the difference in value between two or more currencies, or between the values of the same currency at two or more places.

12. the checks, drafts, etc., exchanged at a clearinghouse.

13. Chess. a reciprocal capture of pieces of equivalent value by opponents in a single series of moves.

exchange British  

/ ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ /

verb

1. (tr) to give up, part with, or transfer (one thing) for an equivalent

   to exchange gifts

   to exchange francs for dollars

2. (tr) to give and receive (information, ideas, etc); interchange

3. (tr) to replace (one thing) with another, esp to replace unsatisfactory goods

4. to transfer or hand over (goods) in return for the equivalent value in kind rather than in money; barter; trade

5. (tr) chess to capture and surrender (pieces, usually of the same value) in a single sequence of moves

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noun

1. the act or process of exchanging

2. 1. anything given or received as an equivalent, replacement, or substitute for something else

   2. ( as modifier )

      an exchange student

3. an argument or quarrel; altercation

   the two men had a bitter exchange

4. Also called: telephone exchange.  a switching centre in which telephone lines are interconnected

5. 1. a place where securities or commodities are sold, bought, or traded, esp by brokers or merchants

      a stock exchange

      a corn exchange

   2. ( as modifier )

      an exchange broker

6. 1. the system by which commercial debts between parties in different places are settled by commercial documents, esp bills of exchange, instead of by direct payment of money

   2. the percentage or fee charged for accepting payment in this manner

7. a transfer or interchange of sums of money of equivalent value, as between different national currencies or different issues of the same currency

8. (often plural) the cheques, drafts, bills, etc, exchanged or settled between banks in a clearing house

9. chess the capture by both players of pieces of equal value, usually on consecutive moves

10. chess to lose a rook in return for a bishop or knight

11. chess to win a rook in return for a bishop or knight

12. med another word for transfusion

13. physics a process in which a particle is transferred between two nucleons, such as the transfer of a meson between two nucleons

exchange Idioms  

1. see in exchange.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exchangeability
  noun
• exchanger
  noun
• reexchange
  verb
• preexchange
  verb (used with object)
• exchangeable
  adjective
• unexchanged
  adjective
• exchangeably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exchanges
  plural

Participles

• exchanging
  present
• exchanged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• exchange
  simple
• exchanges
  simple
• have exchanged
  perfect
• has exchanged
  perfect
• am exchanging
  progressive
• are exchanging
  progressive
• is exchanging
  progressive
• have been exchanging
  perfect progressive
• has been exchanging
  perfect progressive

Past

• exchanged
  simple
• had exchanged
  perfect
• was exchanging
  progressive
• were exchanging
  progressive
• had been exchanging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will exchange
  simple
• will have exchanged
  perfect
• will be exchanging
  progressive
• will have been exchanging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of exchange

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English eschaungen, from Anglo-French eschaungier, from Vulgar Latin excambiāre (unrecorded); equivalent to ex- ¹ + change ); noun derivative of the verb

Explanation

To exchange means to trade one thing for another. If you and your friend both prefer what the other has brought for lunch, you should exchange lunches. Exchange, which is both a noun and a verb, comes from the Latin ex-, meaning "out" and cambiare, for "change" or "substitute." If you're traveling in Europe, you exchange U.S. Dollars for Euros. If you get a really awful outfit for your birthday present, you can go to the store and exchange it for one you like better. The correspondence between you and your loved one is an exchange of love letters. An argument is an exchange of opinions.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exchange exchanges exchanged exchanging

Those talks ended with an agreement that China would buy Boeing jets and US agricultural goods in exchange for lower tariffs.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Last summer, it paid $112 million for a licensed exchange that they converted into Polymarket US.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Termites are social insects that routinely exchange food and other material.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

At a news conference in August in Los Angeles, the fighters got into an exchange that forced UFC president Dana White to intervene.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Then you could trade your sturdy military men’s underwear with local people in exchange for potatoes or milk.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the two sides had "candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on key economic and trade issues", noting that they had discussed AI.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Unlike traditional commodities exchanges, Polymarket accepts funds directly from retail traders, making it more vulnerable to fraud attacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

All have American depositary receipts traded on U.S. exchanges, meaning you can buy the stocks easily through your brokerage account, and can even own them in a tax-sheltered account such as an IRA.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

But it will not necessarily cut informal flows or exchanges between private actors, which are deeply rooted on both sides of the Gulf.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

The uncomfortable silence from the car was holding, however, and Faith and I were having only the briefest exchanges, to discuss prices and sizes, to make change or to ask for “The cash box, please.”

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Many people in line in Marina del Rey chatted about their favorite Sanrio characters and exchanged childhood memories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

A BBC Wales investigation found dozens of traders received professional-looking emails purporting to be from festivals with any requests for money only coming after multiple emails are exchanged.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

He said, ‘Hold on,’ walked up to the same maitre d’, they exchanged a few words, and then we were escorted to one of the best window tables in the house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

We have exchanged several notes via a prison messaging system, though.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and Mother followed him to a doorway with a security camera.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Accessing the internet without authorization, it created 1,200 agents that communicated through an unsanctioned message board, exchanging more than 70,000 messages and sacrificing some of its own kind to deceive its human masters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The insider further revealed that the lovers spent 20 minutes exchanging their handwritten vows, and that they handed out custom handkerchiefs, embroidered with a “TT” and lyrics from Swift’s 2014 song “Blank Space.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

Ohtani looked close to his normal self, even exchanging a few “gotcha” laughs with Smith, like when he induced an infield pop-up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

He denied on Sunday that Iran was negotiating with the United States, saying they were merely "exchanging messages" via intermediaries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

Back and forth we went, exchanging the lead.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• change
• commerce
• network
• swap
• transaction
• transfer