change

present singular third person changes · participle present changing · participle past changed · past changed · first person past singular changed · archaic present second person singular changest · past second person singular changed · archaic past second person singular changedst · present singular third person changes · archaic present singular third person changeth · past singular third person changed · past plural changed · past subjunctive changed · participle present changing · participle past changed

1. intransitiveTo become something different.

   The tadpole changed into a frog.

   1 more example

   Stock prices are constantly changing.

2. ergativetransitiveTo make something into something else.

   The fairy changed the frog into a prince.

   5 more examples

   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, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 1

   KORRIS: They shunned you. Cursed you. Called you vile names, and you knew not why. Even now do you know why you are driven? Why you cannot relent—or repent—or confess—or abstain? How could you know? There have been no other Klingons to lead you to that knowledge. WORF: Yes—yes—those feelings are still a part of me, but I control them. They do not rule me. KORRIS: Yes, to fit in, the humans demand you change the one thing that you cannot change. But because you cannot—you do. That too is the mark of the warrior.

   1988 March 21, Heart of Glory (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC

   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

   I had to change the wording of the ad so it would fit.

   Synonyms: transform

3. transitiveTo replace.

   Ask the janitor to come and change the lightbulb.

   2 more examples

   After a brisk walk, I washed up and changed my shirt.

   Towards the end of the nineteenth century, boys who had pretended soldiers down through the centuries, now changed their pikes and swords for toy pistols.

   1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 193

4. intransitiveTo replace one's clothing.

   You can't go into the dressing room while she’s changing.

   1 more example

   The clowns changed into their costumes before the circus started.

5. transitiveTo replace the clothing of (the one wearing it), especially to put a clean diaper on (someone).

   It’s your turn to change the baby.

6. transitiveTo replace the sheets on (a bed) with fresh clean ones.
7. intransitiveTo transfer to another vehicle (train, bus, etc.)

   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

8. archaicTo exchange.

   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, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

   1 more example

   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)

9. transitiveTo change hand while riding (a horse).

   to change a horse

plural changes

1. countableuncountableThe process or result of becoming different.

   The product is undergoing a change in order to improve it.

   3 more examples

   Such much-needed changes to the exam format might have a serious effect on candidates' performance.

   Cause people often talk about being scared of change / But for me I'm more afraid of things staying the same

   2008, Nick Cave, “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

   Synonyms: transition, transformation

2. uncountableSmall denominations of money given in exchange for a larger denomination.

   Can I get change for this $100 bill, please?

3. countableA replacement.

   a change of clothes

   1 more example

   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

   1. countableuncountableA replacement of a soiled diaper with a clean one; a diaper change.

      The baby needs a change

4. uncountableBalance 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.

5. uncountableAn amount of cash, usually in the form of coins, but sometimes inclusive of paper money.

   This bus ride requires exact change.

   1 more example

   Do you have any change on you? I need to make a phone call.

6. countableA transfer between vehicles.

   The train journey from Bristol to Nottingham includes a change at Birmingham.

   1 more example

   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. countableuncountableball gamesA change-up pitch.
8. countableuncountablecampanologyAny order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale.

   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, […], →OCLC

9. ScotlandcountabledateduncountableA public house; an alehouse.

   1727-1728, Edward Burt, Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland to his Friend in London They call an alehouse a change.