exchange

[ iks-cheynj ]

/ ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: exchange / exchanged / exchanging on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ex·changed, ex·chang·ing.

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

to replace (returned merchandise) with an equivalent or something else: Most stores will allow the purchaser to exchange goods.

to give and receive reciprocally; interchange: to exchange blows; to exchange gifts.

to part with in return for some equivalent; transfer for a recompense; barter: to exchange goods with foreign countries.

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

verb (used without object), ex·changed, ex·chang·ing.

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

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

noun

the act, process, or an instance of exchanging: The contesting nations arranged for an exchange of prisoners; money in exchange for services.

something that is given or received in exchange or substitution for something else: The car was a fair exchange.

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

a central office or central station: a telephone exchange.

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.

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

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

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

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

exchange rate.

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.

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

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

OTHER WORDS FOR exchange

1 interchange, commute, barter, trade, swap.

8 interchange, trade, traffic, business, commerce, barter.

10 market.

See synonyms for exchange on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of exchange

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English eschaungen<Anglo-French eschaungier<Vulgar Latin *excambiāre (see ex-¹, change); (noun) Middle English eschaunge<Anglo-French (Old French eschange), derivative of eschaungier; modern spelling with ex- on the model of ex-¹

OTHER WORDS FROM exchange

ex·chang·er, nounpre·ex·change, verb (used with object), pre·ex·changed, pre·ex·chang·ing.re·ex·change, verb, re·ex·changed, re·ex·chang·ing.un·ex·changed, adjective

Words nearby exchange

excessively, excess luggage, excess-profits tax, excess supply, exch., exchange, exchangeable, exchangee, exchange force, exchanger, exchange rate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use exchange in a sentence

This meant Ryan would donate a kidney to someone else whom he matched with and in exchange Paul would receive a kidney from a matching donor.
A Welcome Lifeline|Washington Regional Transplant Community|September 17, 2020|Washington Blade
Democrats seized on an exchange between the president and Wade Crowfoot, California's secretary for natural resources.
The Trailer: The First State goes last|David Weigel|September 15, 2020|Washington Post
Since March when the ban on cryptocurrencies was revoked, bitcoin accounted for 20% of the total traded volumes on WazirX, one of the popular cryptocurrency exchanges in India.
Bitcoin is still a clear favourite among India’s crypto investors|Prathamesh Mulye|September 15, 2020|Quartz
A promise that you have a product or a service that people will pay money for, that you have a plan to reach as many of those people as possible, and that in exchange for lots of money, you will bust your butt to reach them.
‘How I Built This’ host Guy Raz on insights from some of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs|Rachel King|September 15, 2020|Fortune

The agency has yet to determine exactly how it will retrieve the sample, but the exchange would be expected to happen “in place” on the moon itself—meaning any participating company is only obligated to figure out how to get to the moon.
NASA will pay for moon rocks excavated by private companies|Neel Patel|September 10, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And it must make sure that the platform of debate where we can freely exchange ideas is safe and sound.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Gift cards are sold at kiosks in shopping malls or even websites that catering to this exchange market.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks|M.L. Nestel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Gross and an unnamed American intelligence agent were freed Wednesday in exchange for three Cuban spies.
Cuba Protects America’s Most Wanted|Michael Daly|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In just a few hours on Tuesday, the dollar exchange rate collapsed from 64 to 80 rubles before climbing back to about 68.
How Crimea Crashed the Russian Economy|Anna Nemtsova|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was very warm, and for a while they did nothing but exchange remarks about the heat, the sun, the glare.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Tatham says, "Even the tavern keepers were compelled to exchange a dinner for a few pounds of tobacco."
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The Berlin exchange, while war was as yet only a dreaded possibility, rose from 20 m. 50 pf.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
As already indicated, money may be said to circulate only when it passes in exchange for goods.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
He would not want to exchange his splendid father for all the glory and magnificence of the king's court.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike

British Dictionary definitions for exchange

exchange

/ (ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ) /

verb

(tr) to give up, part with, or transfer (one thing) for an equivalentto exchange gifts; to exchange francs for dollars

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

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

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

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

noun

the act or process of exchanging

anything given or received as an equivalent, replacement, or substitute for something else
(as modifier)an exchange student

an argument or quarrel; altercationthe two men had a bitter exchange

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

a place where securities or commodities are sold, bought, or traded, esp by brokers or merchantsa stock exchange; a corn exchange
(as modifier)an exchange broker

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
the percentage or fee charged for accepting payment in this manner

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

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

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

lose the exchange chess to lose a rook in return for a bishop or knight

win the exchange chess to win a rook in return for a bishop or knight

med another word for transfusion (def. 2)

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

Derived forms of exchange

exchangeable, adjectiveexchangeability, nounexchangeably, adverb

Word Origin for exchange

C14: from Anglo-French eschaungier, from Vulgar Latin excambiāre (unattested), from Latin cambīre to barter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for exchange

exchange

[ ĭks-chānj′ ]

To substitute one thing for another.

The act of substituting one thing for another.

Other Idioms and Phrases with exchange

exchange

see in exchange.

exchange

OTHER WORDS FOR exchange

Origin of exchange

OTHER WORDS FROM exchange

Words nearby exchange

Words related to exchange

How to use exchange in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exchange

Derived forms of exchange

Word Origin for exchange

Medical definitions for exchange

Other Idioms and Phrases with exchange