Word.ws English Dictionary

presto chango

UK/ˌpɹɛs.təʊ ˈtʃeɪn.dʒəʊ/US/ˌpɹɛs.toʊ ˈtʃeɪn.dʒoʊ/

presto chango interjection: indicates the suddenness of a change or transformation, as a magic trick in which one object appears to be suddenly transformed into another.

Interjection

  1. (informal) Indicates the suddenness of a change or transformation, as a magic trick in which one object appears to be suddenly transformed into another.
    • Just one touch lets you go from black to a second color. Presto. Chango. Or back to black. Presto. Chango. Color copies have never been easier.1929, Business Week, advertisement
    • PRESTO CHANGO! From a dreary, commonplace piece to a smart colorful chair shining with personality.1937 April 24, Washington Post, page 12

Synonyms of presto chango

All synonyms of presto chango

Forms of presto chango

alternative formpresto changeo
alternative formpresto change-o

Origin of presto chango

From presto + rhyming variation of change.

Questions about presto chango

What does presto chango mean?
Presto chango means indicates the suddenness of a change or transformation, as a magic trick in which one object appears to be suddenly transformed into another.
What part of speech is presto chango?
Presto chango is an interjection.
How do you pronounce presto chango?
Presto chango is pronounced /ˌpɹɛs.təʊ ˈtʃeɪn.dʒəʊ/ (UK).

Words near presto chango in the dictionary

  1. prestissimo
  2. prestitial
  3. presto
  4. presto change-o
  5. presto changeo
  6. presto chango
  7. prestomal
  8. Preston
  9. Preston Brook
  10. Preston Candover
  11. Preston County

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: presto chango (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “presto chango.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/presto_chango. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.