exchange

exchange |iksˈ ch ānj|nounan act of giving one thing and receiving another (esp. of the same type or value) in return : negotiations should eventually lead to an exchange of land for peace |an exchange of prisoners of war | opportunities for the exchange of information.• a visit or visits in which two people or groups from different countries stay with each other or do each other's jobs : [as adj. ] nine colleagues were away on an exchange visit to Germany.• a short conversation; an argument : there was a heated exchange.• the giving of money for its equivalent in the money of another country.• the fee or percentage charged for converting the currency of one country into that of another.• a system or market in which commercial transactions involving currency, shares, commodities, etc., can be carried out within or between countries. See also foreign exchange .• a central office or station of operations providing telephone service : private branch exchanges to automate internal telephone networks.• Chess a move or short sequence of moves in which both players capture material of comparable value, or particularly ( the exchange) in which one captures a rook in return for a knight or bishop (and is said to win the exchange).• a building or institution used for the trading of a particular commodity or commodities : the New York Stock Exchange.verb [ trans. ]give something and receive something of the same kind in return : we exchanged addresses | he exchanged a concerned glance with Stephen.• give or receive one thing in place of another : we regret that tickets cannot be exchanged | she exchanged her suburban housewife look for leathers and tattoos.PHRASESin exchange as a thing exchanged : at 8, he was carrying bags of groceries in exchange for a nickel.DERIVATIVESexchangeability |iksˌ ch ānjəˈbilitē| nounexchangeable adjectiveexchanger nounORIGIN late Middle English : from Old Frencheschange (noun), eschangier (verb), based onchanger (see change ). The spelling was influenced byLatin ex- ‘out, utterly’ (see ex- 1 ).