interchange

[verb in-ter-cheynj; noun in-ter-cheynj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR interchange ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to put each in the place of the other: to interchange pieces of modular furniture.

to cause (one thing) to change places with another; transpose.

to give and receive (things) reciprocally; exchange: The twins interchanged clothes frequently.

to cause to follow one another alternately; alternate: to interchange business cares with pleasures.

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

to occur by turns or in succession; alternate.

to change places, as two persons or things, or as one with another.

noun

an act or instance of interchanging; reciprocal exchange: the interchange of commodities.

a changing of places, as between two persons or things, or of one with another.

alternation; alternate succession.

a highway intersection consisting of a system of several different road levels arranged so that vehicles may move from one road to another without crossing the streams of traffic.

Origin of interchange

1325–75; inter- + change; replacing Middle English entrechaungen < Middle French entrechangier

Related formsin·ter·chang·er, nounpre·in·ter·change, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for interchange

intersection, junction, give-and-take, networking, barter, shift, alternation, variation, trade, reciprocation, varying, change, mesh, altering, crossfire, transposition, commute, convert, bandy, reverse

Examples from the Web for interchange

Contemporary Examples of interchange

Kopin said the interchange was nothing more than a “gentle caress.”
Is Sex Assault a Crime in the Ivy League?
Olivia Nuzzi
May 10, 2014
But even Jesselyn Radack, one of Snowden's American lawyers, instantly acknowledged that the interchange was a misstep.
Snowden’s Camp: Staged Putin Q&A Was a Screw-Up
Noah Shachtman
April 21, 2014
Wizner said he understood the revulsion: The interchange looked like cheap agitprop.
Snowden’s Camp: Staged Putin Q&A Was a Screw-Up
Noah Shachtman
April 21, 2014
But rising fees on bank accounts was a predictable (and predicted) effect of the interchange fee regulations.
Did Financial Services Reform Inadvertently Put a Kink In Obamacare?
Megan McArdle
May 23, 2013
Used by over 400,000 motorists daily, the project also enhances the safety of motorists traveling on the Interchange.
America's 50 Worst Commutes
The Daily Beast
March 8, 2011

Historical Examples of interchange

Great was the interchange of news over the homely hearty meal.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
"You see, by the interchange your positions were reversed," continued the lawyer.
A Son of Hagar
Sir Hall Caine
Delcassé had listened to this interchange with smiling lips.
The Destroyer
Burton Egbert Stevenson
Finally the interchange was ended, and Ran-los bowed himself out.
The Great Dome on Mercury
Arthur Leo Zagat
This interchange of compliments was interrupted by the announcement of supper.
David Dunne
Belle Kanaris Maniates

British Dictionary definitions for interchange

interchange

verb (ˌɪntəˈtʃeɪndʒ)

to change places or cause to change places; alternate; exchange; switch

noun (ˈɪntəˌtʃeɪndʒ)

the act of interchanging; exchange or alternation

a motorway junction of interconnecting roads and bridges designed to prevent streams of traffic crossing one another

Derived Formsinterchangeable, adjectiveinterchangeability or interchangeableness, nouninterchangeably, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for interchange

late 14c., from Old French entrechangier, from entre- (see inter-) + changier "to change" (see change (v.)). Related: Interchanged; interchanging.

1540s, "act of exchange, from Old French entrechange, from entrechangier (see interchange (v.)). In reference to a type of road junction, 1944.