replace
Americanverb (used with object)
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replaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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replaced,
past participle, past
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replacing
present participle
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to assume the former role, position, or function of; substitute for (a person or thing).
Electricity has replaced gas in lighting.
- Synonyms:
- succeed
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to provide a substitute or equivalent in the place of.
to replace a broken dish.
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to restore; return; make good.
to replace a sum of money borrowed.
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to restore to a former or the proper place.
to replace the vase on the table.
verb
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to take the place of; supersede
the manual worker is being replaced by the machine
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to substitute a person or thing for (another which has ceased to fulfil its function); put in place of
to replace an old pair of shoes
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to put back or return; restore to its rightful place
Synonym Usage
Replace, supersede, supplant refer to putting one thing or person in place of another. To replace is to take the place of, to succeed: Ms. Jones will replace Mr. Smith as president. Supersede implies that that which is replacing another is an improvement: The computer has superseded the typewriter. Supplant implies that that which takes the other's place has ousted the former holder and usurped the position or function, especially by art or fraud: to supplant a former favorite.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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replaceabilitynoun
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replacernoun
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nonreplaceableadjective
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quasi-replacedadjective
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replaceableadjective
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unreplaceableadjective
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unreplacedadjective
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well-replacedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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replacesimple
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replacessimple
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have replacedperfect
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has replacedperfect
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am replacingprogressive
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are replacingprogressive
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is replacingprogressive
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have been replacingperfect progressive
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has been replacingperfect progressive
Past
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replacedsimple
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had replacedperfect
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was replacingprogressive
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were replacingprogressive
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had been replacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of replace
Explanation
Is your pen not working? Maybe you need to replace it. To replace is to substitute one thing for another — in this case, to get a new pen and throw the old one away. When you see the word place in it, replace makes sense: replacing is putting something new in place of something old. We need to replace most things at some point: light bulbs burn out and batteries run out, while computers, cars, and socks wear out. When something stops working or is just worn out and old, it might be time to replace it. It's natural to worry that your boss might want to replace you — i.e., fire you and hire someone else. Some things in life cannot be replaced, like a winning lottery ticket or a friend.
Vocabulary lists containing replace
"How Do We Use Water?"
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re-
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If you replace someone but you don’t give them full reins to do whatever they want, then you’re not really going to get that growth.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
The Angels also would prefer not to replace Soriano from a blossoming corps of young arms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Claire Coutinho, previously the shadow energy secretary, will replace Griffith as shadow business secretary amid the ongoing shake-up.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Rather than attempting to replace damaged liver tissue directly, future therapies might try to interrupt the inflammatory signals that prevent cells from completing regeneration.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
So we go downstairs and sit on the sleek blue couch she got to replace Gram’s old lumpy one.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Harwood-Bellis replaces Ezri Konsa in Villa's defence, after the England centre-back made a £55m move to defending Premier League champions Arsenal.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Crowns can also be used to support a dental bridge, which replaces a missing tooth.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
I had a relatively smooth experience, but still found a hodgepodge of policies and procedures with the new system, which replaces the booths-and-passport-stamp system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Reiner, 32, made a brief appearance on the 13th floor of downtown Los Angeles’ criminal courts building on the newly released indictment, which replaces the original murder counts filed in 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Who’s is short for who is, and the apostrophe replaces the missing i in is.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
The index fund is a huge improvement over much of what it replaced; Vanguard estimates indexing has saved private investors $570 billion in fund management fees just since 2000.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Siegel replaced his designee on the management committee, who then tried to fire the co-CEO chosen by Overdeck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Now it will be demolished and replaced as part of a $250 million sports complex project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Armstrong has made 24 appearances for Everton and played 87 minutes against the Cherries before he was replaced by Charly Alcaraz.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
So they replaced it with a clever reproduction.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The handover ends Tim Cook's 15-year run, replacing the operations specialist who built Apple's supply chain with the engineer who built its hardware.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Phil’s new music director, replacing Gustavo Dudamel, starting with the 2027–28 season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
"The idea was simple. PVC, as one of the most activated forms of polyethylene, ought to be easily converted into some other molecules by replacing the chlorine atoms with other groups," Liu said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
Emery has coached Jackson before, knows the qualities he wants to develop and would be replacing a 30-year-old striker with a 25-year-old whose underlying numbers suggest there may still be considerable room to improve.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Upon reaching the cistern and finding it unattended, he worked quickly, draining the shallow pool of its crystal-clear water and replacing it with the heavy, fragrant wine of his court.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
