exchange rate

American  

noun

exchange rates plural

1. the ratio at which a unit of the currency of one country can be exchanged for that of another country.

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exchange rate British  

noun

1. the rate at which the currency unit of one country may be exchanged for that of another

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exchange rate Cultural  

1. The price at which one currency can be purchased with another currency or gold. At any time, for example, one U.S. dollar can purchase a certain number of EU euros or Japanese yen.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• exchange rates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exchange rate

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

As it turned out, the end of Bretton Woods resolved the balance-of-payments problem since under a floating exchange rate system the balance always nets to zero.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

“The intervention took the exchange rate quickly lower to as low as 155.05 before two-way price action developed in a fast, volatile market,” Saxo Bank strategists wrote on Wednesday.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

Warner generated $8.9 billion in revenue, a 3% decline from the same quarter one year ago, excluding the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

The exchange rate doesn't move much at all.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

For one thing, the exchange rate was bad and the rooms—besides being paid in advance, and with my money—were already rather more than I could afford.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• rate of exchange