Definition of "change"

change

/t͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒ/

verb
third-person singular simple present changes, present participle changing, simple past and past participle changed
1. (intransitive) To become something different.
2. (transitive, ergative) To make something into something else.
  Quotations
  Lo I the man, whoſe Muſe whilome did maske, / As time her taught in lowly Shepheards weeds, / Am now enforſt a far unfitter taske, / For trumpets ſterne to chaunge mine oaten reeds, / And ſinge of Knights and Ladies gentle deeds [...]
  1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, page 1
  Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
  2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist‎, volume 407, number 8835, page 80
  Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
  2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist
3. (transitive) To replace.
4. (intransitive) To replace one's clothing.
5. (transitive) To replace the clothing of (the one wearing it).
6. (intransitive) To transfer to another vehicle (train, bus, etc.)
  Quotations
  After stopping at these stations, my train has become busy. Returning day-trippers make up a goodly number, along with young people heading for a night out in Bristol, which is where I change once again.
  2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66
7. (archaic) To exchange.
  Quotations
  At the first sight / they have changed eyes. (exchanged looks)
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene ii]
  I would give any thing to change a word or two with this person.
  1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2)
8. (transitive) To change hand while riding (a horse).
noun
countable and uncountable, plural changes
1. (countable, uncountable) The process of becoming different.
  Quotations
  Cause people often talk about being scared of change / But for me I'm more afraid of things staying the same
  2008, Nick Cave (lyrics and music), “Jesus Of The Moon”, in Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
  Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
  2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist‎, volume 407, number 8835, page 80
2. (uncountable) Small denominations of money given in exchange for a larger denomination.
3. (countable) A replacement.
  Quotations
  After beating champions Chelsea 3-1 on Boxing Day, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made eight changes to his starting XI in an effort to freshen things up, with games against Birmingham and Manchester City to come in the next seven days.
  2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, in BBC‎
4. (uncountable) Balance of money returned from the sum paid after deducting the price of a purchase.
5. (uncountable) An amount of cash, usually in the form of coins, but sometimes inclusive of paper money.
6. (countable) A transfer between vehicles.
  Quotations
  It [the Elizabeth Line] will provide a 6tph (trains per hour) service and with a single change at Hayes & Harlington offer services towards Reading.
  2019 October, John Glover, “Heathrow rail expansion”, in Modern Railways, page 72
7. (baseball) A change-up pitch.
8. (campanology) Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale.
  Quotations
  Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing.
  1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters: […], London: […] T. N[ewcomb] for J[ohn] Martyn printer to the R[oyal] Society, […]
9. (Scotland, dated) A public house; an alehouse.
  Quotations
  They call an alehouse a change.
  1727-1728, Edward Burt, Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland to his Friend in London

Definition of "change"

change

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