interchange
Americanverb (used with object)
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interchanges,
present (3rd person singular)
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interchanged,
past participle, past
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interchanging
present participle
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to put each in the place of the other.
to interchange pieces of modular furniture.
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to cause (one thing) to change places with another; transpose.
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to give and receive (things) reciprocally; exchange.
The twins interchanged clothes frequently.
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to cause to follow one another alternately; alternate.
to interchange business cares with pleasures.
verb (used without object)
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interchanges,
present (3rd person singular)
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interchanged,
past participle, past
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interchanging
present participle
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to occur by turns or in succession; alternate.
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to change places, as two persons or things, or as one with another.
noun
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interchanges
plural
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an act or instance of interchanging; reciprocal exchange.
the interchange of commodities.
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a changing of places, as between two persons or things, or of one with another.
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alternation; alternate succession.
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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.
verb
noun
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the act of interchanging; exchange or alternation
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a motorway junction of interconnecting roads and bridges designed to prevent streams of traffic crossing one another
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interchangeabilitynoun
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interchangernoun
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preinterchangenoun
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interchangeableadjective
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interchangeablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interchangesimple
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interchangessimple
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have interchangedperfect
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has interchangedperfect
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am interchangingprogressive
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are interchangingprogressive
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is interchangingprogressive
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have been interchangingperfect progressive
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has been interchangingperfect progressive
Past
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interchangedsimple
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had interchangedperfect
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was interchangingprogressive
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were interchangingprogressive
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had been interchangingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interchange
1325–75; inter- + change; replacing Middle English entrechaungen < Middle French entrechangier
Explanation
To interchange two things is to trade or switch them. If the painting hanging on your wall just doesn't fit the room, you can interchange it with the photograph on the opposite wall. When you're baking a pie, you can usually interchange one kind of fruit for another, or interchange tapioca for cornstarch to thicken the filling. When interchange is a noun, it has various meanings including "highway intersection," or the place where these busy roads meet each other. This road meaning dates only from the 1940s, while the "change places" meaning is at least 400 years old.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Bus passengers caught committing serious offences will face a fine of up to $5,000, such as "the soiling of any part of a public bus, bus interchange, or terminal"
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Hampshire Police previously said the charges followed a single-vehicle collision on the M3 southbound, near the Minley interchange.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
From next month, Australian card surcharges will end and interchange fee caps will be lowered to 30 basis points from 80 basis points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The incident occurred around 11:20 p.m. on the wide, curving interchange road that connects the eastbound 105 Freeway to the southbound 110 Freeway leading to San Pedro, the CHP said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
It was clear what the mulefa gained; but how did the trees benefit from this interchange?
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Jasmin Strange and Connie Boyd will make their international debuts, while uncapped Hope Millard is among the interchanges.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Artistic and scholarly interchanges helped nurture the Renaissance, expanding interest, knowledge and expertise in the arts and sciences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The revamp began with construction of three imposing new bridges spanning the Ebrie Lagoon and several road interchanges.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
“There are some groups out there that want to spend billions and billions and billions of dollars on more, bigger, wider interchanges across the state,” Walker said at the time.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2024
I did cities on the ocean, cities with two rivers meeting in the middle, cities with one big river that bent, cities with bridges, crazy interchanges, circles and boulevards.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
The last third of your book is so completely like “The Grapes of Wrath” that the families and characters might basically be interchanged in the two.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024
Grits are often interchanged with polenta, since both are made from ground corn.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 10, 2023
First, they found the phone number the government lists for its hotline is inaccurate, with two numbers interchanged.
From Washington Times ● May 31, 2018
When two rows are interchanged, the determinant changes sign.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
He was talking to the gods or the ancestors; I remembered Aunty Ifeoma saying that the two could be interchanged.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Reign coach Laura Harvey’s strategy of interchanging keepers Laurel Ivory and Claudia Dickey for six Challenge Cup matches will pay off because both have enough experience to take over the top spot.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
By morning the fires had largely been contained, but interchanging winds caused intermittent flare-ups.
From Reuters ● Aug. 7, 2023
Realistically, United's ambitions are less lofty and they already have a number of fast international forwards who, presumably, are capable of interchanging.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2022
At first, Jungnickel said, the Americans considered a combination of pushing and interchanging the front skater.
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2022
I do not know whether Grimm's law would authorise the antithesis of a d for a p sound, but every student of Romaic will allow the tendency that i and o sounds have for interchanging.
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