Definition

1. Noun:
   • A place of business where one currency can be exchanged for another: A bureau de change is an establishment, often found in airports, tourist areas, or city centers, that specializes in exchanging one nation's currency for another.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • We need to find a bureau de change to get some local currency before we leave the airport.
  • The bureau de change on the main street offers better exchange rates than the hotel.

Advanced Usage

• The term is a direct loan phrase from French, commonly used in British English and other English-speaking regions outside North America, where "currency exchange" or "foreign exchange office" is more typical.
  • In many European cities, you will see signs for a bureau de change near major tourist attractions.

Variants and Related Words

• Currency exchange (n): The more common generic term in American English for the same service.
  • The currency exchange at the bank has a long line.
• Foreign exchange office (n): A formal term for the same type of establishment.
  • The foreign exchange office is closed on Sundays.

Synonyms

• Exchange office: A direct synonym.
• Money changer: Can refer to a person or a small business performing currency exchange.

Related Phrases

• While itself is a fixed noun phrase, it is often used in the context of related transactional language.
  • to use a bureau de change
  • the rates at the bureau de change

Notes

• The phrase is typically used in its singular form. The standard English plural is bureaux de change or, more commonly in English, bureaus de change.

Noun

1. (French) an establishment where you can exchange foreign money