fungible

American  

[fuhn-juh-buhl] / ˈfʌn dʒə bəl /

adjective

1. Law, Commerce. (especially of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.

   Appliances are usually fungible—that is, they can be replaced with cash or a similar item of equal value.

2. capable of being exchanged or interchanged; interchangeable.

   Neither ethanol nor biodiesel is fully fungible with petroleum-based fuels.

   Large corporations are likely to view both customers and employees as fungible, replaceable commodities.

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fungible British  

/ ˈfʌndʒɪbəl /

noun

1. (often plural) moveable perishable goods of a sort that may be estimated by number or weight, such as grain, wine, etc

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adjective

1. having the nature or quality of fungibles

Other Word Forms

• fungibility noun
• nonfungible adjective
• unfungible adjective

Etymology

Origin of fungible

First recorded in 1640–50; from Medieval Latin fungibilis, equivalent to Latin fung(ī) “to perform, discharge, execute” + -ibilis -ible

Explanation

If something is fungible, you can exchange it for something else. Why is it that you can trade a twenty dollar bill for a ten and two fives? Because money's fungible! The “g” in fungible is pronounced like a “j” or like the “g” in “fudge,” though fungible things aren't always tasty. Fungible comes from a Latin phrase meaning “to serve in place of” and that's what something that's fungible does: serves in place of what it's exchanged for.

Example Sentences

“What we’ve tried to do is make the investments as fungible as possible,” Gitlin said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

If attention is fungible, then Netflix’s share, and the merged firm’s share, would fall below the presumption established in the 1963 precedent.

From Barron's • Dec. 8, 2025

“You have to start with building out a very fungible fleet,” he said on the call.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 30, 2025

But, you know, his rants are pretty fungible.

From Salon • Feb. 2, 2025

If the particular fungible sold happened to be money, the estimation of the just price was a simple matter—it was the return of an amount of money of equal value.

From An Essay on Mediaeval Economic Teaching by O'Brien, George

Related Words

• compatible
• synonymous