change: Meaning and Definition of

change

Pronunciation: (chānj), [key]
— v., n. changed, chang•ing,
—v.t.
  1. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history.
  2. to transform or convert (usually fol. by into): The witch changed the prince into a toad.
  3. to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else, usually of the same kind: She changed her shoes when she got home from the office.
  4. to give and take reciprocally; interchange: to change places with someone.
  5. to transfer from one (conveyance) to another: You'll have to change planes in Chicago.
  6. to give or get smaller money in exchange for: to change a five-dollar bill.
  7. to give or get foreign money in exchange for: to change dollars into francs.
  8. to remove and replace the covering or coverings of: to change a bed; to change a baby.
—v.i.
  1. to become different: Overnight the nation's mood changed.
  2. to become altered or modified: Colors change if they are exposed to the sun.
  3. to become transformed or converted (usually fol. by into): The toad changed into a prince again.
  4. to pass gradually into (usually fol. by to or into): Summer changed to autumn.
  5. to make a change or an exchange: If you want to sit next to the window, I'll change with you.
  6. to transfer between trains or other conveyances: We can take the local and change to an express at the next stop.
  7. to change one's clothes: She changed into jeans.
  8. (of the moon) to pass from one phase to another.
  9. (of the voice) to become deeper in tone; come to have a lower register: The boy's voice began to change when he was thirteen.
  10. to shift a military force in another direction.
  11. See(def. 34).
    1. to take turns with another, as at doing a task.
    2. to alternate between two tasks or between a task and a rest break.
  12. to change one's opinions or intentions.
—n.
  1. the act or fact of changing; fact of being changed.
  2. a transformation or modification; alteration: They noticed the change in his facial expression.
  3. a variation or deviation: a change in the daily routine.
  4. the substitution of one thing for another: We finally made the change to an oil-burning furnace.
  5. variety or novelty: Let's try a new restaurant for a change.
  6. the passing from one place, state, form, or phase to another: a change of seasons; social change.
  7. harmonic progression from one tonality to another; modulation.
  8. the supplanting of one thing by another.
  9. anything that is or may be substituted for another.
  10. a fresh set of clothing.
  11. money given in exchange for an equivalent of higher denomination.
  12. a balance of money that is returned when the sum tendered in payment is larger than the sum due.
  13. coins of low denomination.
  14. any of the various sequences in which a peal of bells may be rung.
  15. exchange (def. 10).
  16. changefulness; caprice.
    1. to perform all permutations possible in ringing a set of tuned bells, as in a bell tower of a church.
    2. to vary the manner of performing an action or of discussing a subject; repeat with variations.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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