change > change out

[Douglas G. Wilson]

I don't have any authoritative data, but I've been hearing this since ca.
1990 applied to computer (PC) components and the like. Google Groups shows
it from ca. 1986.

I think "change out" usually means "remove and replace" rather than
"alter", while "change" could mean either. So altering your hard drive
(e.g.) by changing the jumpers (but leaving the drive in place) would not
be "changing out" the drive, while taking out the drive and putting in a
new one instead would be "changing out" the drive ... I think.

I don't know exactly how the decorators use this. I would assume that a
window treatment could be changed in some ways without removing anything
(say by adding some frill or other); I would guess that this alteration
wouldn't be called "changing out".

Sometimes I've heard "swap out" used like "change out" in this sense.

Just my casual impression.

-- Doug Wilson