Definitions for "Physical change"
a change in the solid, liquid or gas state of matter
Compare with chemical change. A change which does not transform one substance into another. For example, freezing water is a physical change because both water and ice are H2O. However, electrolysis of water would not be a physical change because passing a strong electric current through water can decompose it into H2 and O2.
Process that alters one or more physical properties of an element or a compound without altering its chemical composition. Examples are changing the size and shape of a sample of matter (crushing ice and cutting aluminum foil) and changing a sample of matter from one physical state to another (boiling and freezing water). Compare chemical change, nuclear change.