change

Less common meanings

6. 6
   noununcountable

   The money returned to a buyer when the amount paid is more than the price.

   The cashier handed him his change along with the receipt.

   I left the change on the table as a tip for the waiter.

   UsageUsed without a: your change, keep the change.

7. 7
   coinsnoununcountable

   Money in coins or small units, including the smaller units given in exchange for a larger note or coin.

   She emptied her pockets of change onto the counter.

   He scraped together enough change from the couch cushions to buy coffee.

   UsageUsed with some or any, not a: any change on you, exact change.

   Similarcoins

   Note

   Exact change is money that matches a fare or price precisely, so nothing needs to come back. That is why buses ask for it. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Buses request exact change because change cannot be given back. njtransit.com
8. 8
   nouncountable

   A substitution of one person or thing for another, or something kept to use in place of another, as in a change of clothes.

   The director made a few changes to the cast before opening night.

   She packed a change of clothes in case the weather turned cold.

   UsageCommon in a change of clothes and make changes to a team.

   Similarreplacement, substitution, substitute

   Note

   Mark Vesty, reporting for the BBC in 2010, describes Arsene Wenger making "eight changes to his starting XI" after the December win over Chelsea. In team sport a change is a player brought in for another. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Mark Vesty reported for the BBC in 2010. en.wiktionary.org
   • Vesty's report contains the exact phrase quoted. en.wiktionary.org
   • Arsene Wenger made eight changes after Arsenal's December 2010 victory over Chelsea. uefa.com
9. 9
   switch trainsverbintransitive

   To transfer from one vehicle to another, such as a train or bus, while traveling.

   Passengers change at the downtown hub for the express line.

   I changed twice on the way home because of the delays.

   UsageUse at for the place: change at Birmingham. With an object, it is usually plural: change trains, change buses.

   Similartransfer

   Note

   Paul Bigland, writing in Rail in 2020, says Bristol "is where I change once again." The noun works the same way (a change at Birmingham), as the noun for a transfer shows. The word means leaving one train or bus for another, not altering the route. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Paul Bigland wrote the cited passage in Rail in 2020. en.wiktionary.org
   • Bigland uses the exact quoted wording about changing trains in Bristol. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    a connectionnouncountable

    An instance of transferring from one vehicle to another during a journey.

    The route requires two changes before you reach downtown.

    A tight change of ten minutes left us rushing across the platform.

    Similartransfer, connection

11. 11
    tradeverbarchaic

    To give up one thing in return for another; to exchange.

    At the first sight / they have changed eyes. (exchanged looks)

    1610, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”

    I would give any thing to change a word or two with this person.

    1662, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2)

    Note

    Closest to the word's origin: Latin cambīre meant "to exchange, barter," and this sense keeps that meaning intact. Shakespeare's The Tempest has two lovers who "have changed eyes," meaning they exchanged looks, and Thomas Salusbury's 1661 translation of Galileo wants "to change a word or two." In modern writing it reads as archaic. Outside period pastiche, exchange is the safe choice. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Change derives ultimately from Latin cambīre, meaning to exchange or barter. en.wiktionary.org
    • Shakespeare’s The Tempest contains “have changed eyes”; Prospero says this about Ferdinand and Miranda. shakespeare.mit.edu
    • “Changed eyes” means exchanged looks of love. upload.wikimedia.org
    • Thomas Salusbury’s English translation of Galileo’s dialogue was published in 1661. en.wikisource.org
    • The translation contains “to change a word or two”; the speaker is Salviatus. en.wikisource.org
12. 12
    slow pitchnouncountable or uncountable

    A baseball pitch thrown with fastball motion but at reduced speed, meant to upset the batter's timing.

    Like a feint in boxing: the wind-up promises speed the punch never delivers.

    The rookie's change kept the hitters off balance all night.

    On a full count he threw a change, and the batter swung way too early.

    Similarchangeup

    Note

    A baseball clipping of change-up, the off-speed pitch that looks like a fastball leaving the hand. The short form works as a countable noun (a good change) and as a mass noun for the pitch type (she throws change). Context does the disambiguating: in a pitching report, a good change usually means the pitch, not an alteration. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Change is a shortened baseball name for a change-up. en.wikipedia.org
    • A change-up is an off-speed pitch delivered to resemble a fastball. en.wikipedia.org
    • Change can mean an alteration in pitching reports, including an alteration to a pitcher’s arm slot. mlb.com
13. 13
    pubnoundatedScotlandcountable or uncountable

    A drinking establishment; a public house or alehouse.

    Similarpub, tavern, inn, alehouse

    Note

    A Scots word for an alehouse, now dated. Edward Burt's Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland (written about 1727–1728, published 1754) records it as a local usage worth explaining to a London reader: "They call an alehouse a change." When you meet it in older Scottish writing, read it as a place, not an alteration. In present-day use, pub or public house is the expected word. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • Change is a Scottish word meaning an alehouse or public house. en.wiktionary.org
    • Edward Burt wrote Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland. en.wikisource.org
    • The main series of letters was written about 1727–1728. en.wikipedia.org
    • The book was first published in 1754. archive.org
    • Burt explains the local usage with the quoted words. archive.org
    • The letters address a reader in London. archive.org
14. 14
    verb

    To switch a horse from one direction of travel to the other while riding, moving from one hand to the opposite hand.
15. 15
    noun

    An arrangement in which a set of bells is struck in some order other than the descending diatonic scale.