What does "interchange" mean?
An act of interchanging.
Interchange
/ɪntə(ɹ)ˈtʃeɪndʒ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An act of interchanging.
- Grammar: interchange is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: exchange, access, accord, agency.
- Useful contrasts: keep, maintain, monologue.
- Usage evidence: Please note, a road interchange ahead.
How to use "interchange"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "interchange" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "interchange" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "interchange" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "interchange" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "interchange" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "exchange" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "interchange", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of interchanging. countable, uncountable
"That was one of three superb saves Hennessey made in the opening 45 minutes, the best of which was from Dzeko, who had been released by a slick interchange involving Silva and Sergio Aguero."
- 2 mutual interaction; the activity of reciprocating or exchanging (especially information) wordnet
- 3 A highway junction in which traffic may change from one road to another without crossing a stream of traffic. countable
- 4 reciprocal transfer of equivalent sums of money (especially the currencies of different countries) wordnet
- 5 A junction in which traffic may merge to enter or diverge to exit a limited-access highway to access a surface street, without crossing traffic on the main highway. countable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 the act of changing one thing for another thing wordnet
- 7 A connection between two or more lines, services or modes of transport; a station at which such a connection can be made. countable
"Holborn tube station is the only interchange between the London Underground Central and Piccadilly Lines."
- 8 a junction of highways on different levels that permits traffic to move from one to another without crossing traffic streams wordnet
- 9 A back-and-forth interaction; an exchange. countable, uncountable
"David and I were not "intimate" friends. There was always a certain old-worldly formality about our interchanges. There was something professorial and distant about David, something that commanded respect, partially, I think, because he was so respectful himself."
Verb
- 1 to switch (each of two things) transitive
"to interchange places"
- 2 reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) wordnet
- 3 to mutually give and receive (something); to exchange transitive
"I shall interchange / My waned state for Henry's regal crown."
- 4 cause to change places wordnet
- 5 to swap or change places intransitive
"The poem is written in an alef-lamed, bet-nun acrostic form. This is a formula of permutation of letters wherein the first interchanges with the twelfth, the second with the thirteenth, etc."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 give to, and receive from, one another wordnet
- 7 to alternate; to intermingle or vary transitive
"to interchange cares with pleasures"
- 8 put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items wordnet
- 9 To act as or carry out an interchange (noun, senses 2, 3).
"But those 13 miles go through central London, and where the Underground interchanges with Crossrail, its own stations will be boosted and glamorised, especially at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road."
Antonyms
Example
"Please note, a road interchange ahead."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "interchange"?
Common synonyms include: exchange, access, accord, agency, agree, agree with.
How do you use "interchange" in a sentence?
Please note, a road interchange ahead.
How do you pronounce "interchange"?
Pronounced /ɪntə(ɹ)ˈtʃeɪndʒ/.
Etymology
From Old French entrechange, by surface analysis, inter- + change.