8 N‑COUNT A change of clothes is an extra set of clothes that you take with you when you go to stay somewhere or to take part in an activity. □ [+ of ] He stuffed a bag with a few changes of clothing.
9 VERB When you change a bed or change the sheets, you take off the dirty sheets and put on clean ones. □ [V n] After changing the bed, I would fall asleep quickly. □ [V n] I changed the sheets on your bed today.
10 VERB When you change a baby or change its nappy or diaper, you take off the dirty one and put on a clean one. □ [V n] She criticizes me for the way I feed or change him. □ [V -ed] He needs his nappy changed.
11 VERB When you change buses, trains, or planes or change , you get off one bus, train, or plane and get on to another in order to continue your journey. □ [V n] At Glasgow I changed trains for Greenock. □ [V ] We were turned off the train at Hanover, where we had to change.
12 VERB When you change gear or change into another gear, you move the gear lever on a car, bicycle, or other vehicle in order to use a different gear. [BRIT ] □ [V n] The driver tried to change gear, then swerved. □ [V prep] He looked up into the mirror as he changed through his gears. in AM, use shift 13 N‑UNCOUNT Your change is the money that you receive when you pay for something with more money than it costs because you do not have exactly the right amount of money. □ 'There's your change.'—'Thanks very much.'. □ They told the shopkeeper to keep the change.
14 N‑UNCOUNT Change is coins, rather than paper money. □ Thieves ransacked the office, taking a sack of loose change. □ [+ for ] The man in the store won't give him change for the phone unless he buys something.
15 → see also small change
16 N‑UNCOUNT If you have change for larger notes, bills, or coins, you have the same value in smaller notes, bills, or coins, which you can give to someone in exchange. □ [+ for ] The courier had change for a £10 note. ● PHRASE If you make change , you give someone smaller notes, bills, or coins, in exchange for the same value of larger ones. [AM ]
17 VERB When you change money, you exchange it for the same amount of money in a different currency, or in smaller notes, bills, or coins. □ [V n] You can expect to pay the bank a fee of around 1% to 2% every time you change money. □ [V n + into ] Find an agency that will change one foreign currency directly into another.
18 PHRASE If you say that you are doing something or something is happening for a change , you mean that you do not usually do it or it does not usually happen, and you are happy to be doing it or that it is happening. □ Now let me ask you a question, for a change. □ Liz settled back in her seat, comfortably relaxed, enjoying being driven for a change.
19 to change for the better → see better
20 to change hands → see hand ➊
21 a change of heart → see heart
22 to change your mind → see mind ➊
23 to change places → see place
24 to ring the changes → see ring ➊
25 to change the subject → see subject
26 to change tack → see tack
27 to change your tune → see tune
28 to change for the worse → see worse
▸ change down PHRASAL VERB When you change down , you move the gear lever in the vehicle you are driving in order to use a lower gear. [BRIT ] □ [V P ] Changing down, he turned into the drive. □ [V P + to ] I braked at the second corner and changed down to third. in AM, use shift down
▸ change over
1 PHRASAL VERB If you change over from one thing to another, you stop doing one thing and start doing the other. □ [V P + from/to ] We are gradually changing over to a completely metric system. □ [V P ] The two men swapped places, always extinguishing the light when they changed over.
2 → see also changeover
▸ change up PHRASAL VERB When you change up , you move the gear lever in the vehicle you are driving in order to use a higher gear. [BRIT ] □ [V P ] I accelerated and changed up. in AM, use shift up SYNONYMS change NOUN 1
alteration: Making some simple alterations to your diet will make you feel fitter.
transformation: Chemical transformations occur.
modification: Relatively minor modifications were required. VERB 5
alter: Little had altered in the village.
transform: Your metabolic rate is the speed at which your body transforms food into energy.
revise: He soon came to revise his opinion of the profession.
modify: The club members did agree to modify their recruitment policy.
change|able /tʃe I ndʒəb ə l/ ADJ Someone or something that is changeable is likely to change many times. □ The forecast is for changeable weather.
change|ling /tʃe I ndʒl I ŋ/ (changelings ) N‑COUNT A changeling is a child who was put in the place of another child when they were both babies. In stories changelings were often taken or left by fairies. [LITERARY ]