change.
To become something different.
Meaning & usage
To become something different.
The tadpole changed into a frog.
Stock prices are constantly changing.
To make something into something else.
The fairy changed the frog into a prince.
I had to change the wording of the ad so it would fit.
To replace.
Ask the janitor to come and change the lightbulb.
After a brisk walk, I washed up and changed my shirt.
To replace one's clothing.
You can't go into the dressing room while she’s changing.
The clowns changed into their costumes before the circus started.
To replace the clothing of (the one wearing it), especially to put a clean diaper on (someone).
It’s your turn to change the baby.
To replace the sheets on (a bed) with fresh clean ones.
To transfer to another vehicle (train, bus, etc.)
To exchange.
To change hand while riding (a horse).
to change a horse
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-? Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂embos Proto-Celtic *kambosder. Gaulish cambionbor. Latin cambium Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Late Latin cambiō Late Latin cambiāreder. Old French changierder. Anglo-Norman chaungerbor. Middle English chaungen English change From Middle English changen, chaungen, from Old French changier, from Late Latin cambiāre, from Latin cambīre (“to exchange, barter”), derived from the noun cambium (“change”) (whence was loaned the English doublet cambium), from Gaulish cambion, earlier *kambyom (“change”), related to Proto-Celtic *kambos (“twisted, crooked”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂(e)mbos, *(s)kh₂(e)mbos (“crooked”). More at skimp, scam; see also Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-. Cognate with Italian cambiare, Portuguese cambiar, Romanian schimba, Sicilian canciari, Spanish cambiar. Used in English since the 13th century. Displaced Middle English wenden, from wendan (“to turn, change”) (whence wend). The noun is from Middle English change, chaunge, from Old French change, from the verb changier. See also exchange. Possibly related from the same source is Old English gombe.
The process or result of becoming different.
The product is undergoing a change in order to improve it.
Such much-needed changes to the exam format might have a serious effect on candidates' performance.
Small denominations of money given in exchange for a larger denomination.
Can I get change for this $100 bill, please?
A replacement.
a change of clothes
A replacement. A replacement of a soiled diaper with a clean one; a diaper change.
The baby needs a change
Balance of money returned from the sum paid after deducting the price of a purchase.
A customer who pays with a 10-pound note for a £9 item receives one pound in change.
An amount of cash, usually in the form of coins, but sometimes inclusive of paper money.
Do you have any change on you? I need to make a phone call.
This bus ride requires exact change.
A transfer between vehicles.
The train journey from Bristol to Nottingham includes a change at Birmingham.
A change-up pitch.
Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale.
A public house; an alehouse.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-? Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂embos Proto-Celtic *kambosder. Gaulish cambionbor. Latin cambium Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Late Latin cambiō Late Latin cambiāreder. Old French changierder. Anglo-Norman chaungerbor. Middle English chaungen English change From Middle English changen, chaungen, from Old French changier, from Late Latin cambiāre, from Latin cambīre (“to exchange, barter”), derived from the noun cambium (“change”) (whence was loaned the English doublet cambium), from Gaulish cambion, earlier *kambyom (“change”), related to Proto-Celtic *kambos (“twisted, crooked”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂(e)mbos, *(s)kh₂(e)mbos (“crooked”). More at skimp, scam; see also Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-. Cognate with Italian cambiare, Portuguese cambiar, Romanian schimba, Sicilian canciari, Spanish cambiar. Used in English since the 13th century. Displaced Middle English wenden, from wendan (“to turn, change”) (whence wend). The noun is from Middle English change, chaunge, from Old French change, from the verb changier. See also exchange. Possibly related from the same source is Old English gombe.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.