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 Supersede implies that that which is replacing another is an improvement: The computer has superseded the typewriter.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:
But last week, the company said it would replace any phones that were impacted by an issue that caused a "small number" of the new phones to crack along the inside fold.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Fluence Energy stock dropped 5.5% after the company said it will replace its CEO, CFO, and institute new oversight of its operations.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Netflix was supposed to replace TV, and more commercials risks annoying viewers, undercutting the aim of getting them to watch more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
And while it’s good to replace that metaphorical candy with something healthier, we cannot flog ourselves into not needing something sweet to survive the bitter world we live in.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
The players were told that a fuse had blown and would take a few minutes to replace.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
James Tedesco replaces Walsh, and will captain the co-hosts and men's World Cup favourites.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
It replaces the previous 8%-11% total shareholder return target, which included dividend yield, and implies a stronger earnings outlook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Amberley Ruck replaces Ffion Lewis, with Zoe Heeley moving from centre to the wing.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
You might think of this novel as a rebuttal or counterpoint to its forerunner, a book that replaces roseate campus fantasy with spikier societal conflicts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
She removes my shoes and replaces them with silk house socks that button along my ankles.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
It felt almost as if Chuck E. Cheese had replaced its animatronic band with several real-life Tejano ones.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
A previous version of the UK government official plane, an RAF Voyager, was given a £900,000 repaint job in 2020 before being replaced with a different plane.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
His "rotating pantry" - consisting of long-life food supplies like oats, quinoa and peanut butter - is regularly used for cooking then replaced so "it's not just sitting there expiring".
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Only a fraction of earlier models contain rare earths but they became commonplace in the more-powerful turbines that are now starting to be replaced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The sun’s dying red glow vanished, replaced with the rising full moon’s pale light through the skeletal trees.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
What prompted the letter from Furner is that Walmart is expanding its use of electronic shelf labels, little screens that let employees update prices digitally from a central computer instead of replacing stickers by hand.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
He said the protests were about making institutions work again, not simply replacing one set of politicians with another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Maresca seemed to slot in seamlessly after taking on the seemingly impossible job of replacing the legendary Pep Guardiola, but now needs to find solutions to City's stuttering form.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
The findings raise important questions about whether replacing sugar with low-calorie alternatives always delivers the health benefits consumers expect, particularly when it comes to the brain.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Yet the Communists were easily replacing their losses.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
