interchangeable
English
Etymology
From interchange + -able.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪntɚˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒəbl̩/, [ɪɾ̃ɚˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒəbl̩]
Adjective
interchangeable (not comparable)
- Freely substitutable; that may be swapped at will.
- Eli Whitney's development of interchangeable parts was a breakthrough for modern manufacturing. Prior to that, each part had to be made custom.
- 1997, Carlin, George, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, LCCN 96-52373, OCLC 36084460, OL 26335012M, page 104:
- Sometimes the same words mean opposite things. Sometimes the opposite is true. Shock absorbers are called shocks. Slow down and slow up are interchangeable.
- 2014, Ian Jack, "Is this the end of Britishness", The Guardian, 16 September 2014:
- The English, until relatively recently, seem to have imagined “English” and “British” to be interchangeable, as if Britain was just a bigger England.
- Synonym: equivalent
- Following each other in alternate succession; alternating.
Derived terms
- interchangeability
- interchangeably
Translations
freely substitutable
|
alternating — see alternating
Noun
interchangeable (plural interchangeables)
- Anything that can be interchanged; a substitute.
French
Etymology
From interchanger + -able.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛ̃.tɛʁ.ʃɑ̃.ʒabl/
Adjective
interchangeable (plural interchangeables)
- interchangeable, substitutable
- Ces deux termes sont souvent interchangeables. ― These two terms are often interchangeable.
Derived terms
- interchangeablement
Further reading
- “interchangeable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.