foreign exchange

American  

[fawr-in iks-chaynj, for-] / ˈfɔr ɪn ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ, ˈfɒr- /

noun

• foreign exchanges
  plural

1. commercial paper drawn on a person or corporation in a foreign nation. FX

2. the process of balancing accounts in commercial transactions between business organizations of different nations. FX

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foreign exchange British  

noun

1. the system by which one currency is converted into another, enabling international transactions to take place without the physical transportation of gold

2. foreign bills and currencies

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foreign exchange Cultural  

1. The ways in which debts between two nations that use different currencies are paid. Foreign exchange rates can have an important effect on a nation's economy, because the value of its currency in other countries affects the cost of both imported and exported goods and services. (See balance of payments.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• foreign exchanges
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foreign exchange

First recorded in 1685–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreign exchange

United put most of this down to a foreign exchange loss.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

In foreign exchange markets, the Japanese yen continued to gain ground against the dollar, bolstered by expectations of faster interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan and the potential for investment inflows into Japanese assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

It is a channel for Egyptians working in the Gulf to send home remittances, an important foreign exchange earner for Egypt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Bigger ructions were seen in the foreign exchange and bond markets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

I thought the soldiers would be against such black-market foreign exchange, but they didn’t seem to care.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

Related Words

• convertibility