interchangeable
English edit
Etymology edit
From interchange + -able.
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪntɚˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒəbl̩/, [ɪɾ̃ɚˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒəbl̩]
Adjective edit
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, George Carlin, Brain Droppings[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, 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 September 16, Ian Jack, “Is this the end of Britishness”, in The Guardian:
- 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 edit
Translations edit
freely substitutable
|
alternating — see alternating
Noun edit
interchangeable (plural interchangeables)
- Anything that can be interchanged; a substitute.
French edit
Etymology edit
From interchanger + -able.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
interchangeable (plural interchangeables)
- interchangeable, substitutable
- Ces deux termes sont souvent interchangeables. ― These two terms are often interchangeable.
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “interchangeable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.