substitute

American  

[suhb-sti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈsʌb stɪˌtut, -ˌtjut /

noun

substitutes plural

1. a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

   Synonyms:

   equivalent, replacement, alternative

2. (formerly) a person who, for payment, served in an army or navy in the place of a conscript.

3. Grammar. a word that functions as a replacement for any member of a class of words or constructions, as do in He doesn't know but I do.

---

verb (used with object)

substitutes, present (3rd person singular) substituted, past participle, past substituting present participle

1. to put (a person or thing) in the place of another.

2. to take the place of; replace.

3. Chemistry. to replace (one or more elements or groups in a compound) by other elements or groups.

verb (used without object)

substitutes, present (3rd person singular) substituted, past participle, past substituting present participle

1. to act as a substitute.

adjective

1. of or relating to a substitute or substitutes.

2. composed of substitutes.

substitute British  

/ ˈsʌbstɪˌtjuːt /

verb

1. (often foll by for) to serve or cause to serve in place of another person or thing

2. chem to replace (an atom or group in a molecule) with (another atom or group)

3. logic maths to replace (one expression) by (another) in the context of a third, as replacing x + y for x in 3 x = k gives 3 x + 3 y = k

---

noun

1. 1. a person or thing that serves in place of another, such as a player in a game who takes the place of an injured colleague

   2. Often shortened to: sub.  ( as modifier )

      a substitute goalkeeper

2. grammar another name for pro-form

3. another name for supply teacher

4. nautical another word for repeater

5. (formerly) a person paid to replace another due for military service

Usage

What does substitute mean? A substitute is someone or something that takes the place of another person or thing. As a verb, to substitute means to make such a switch. Substitute is used in a variety of contexts, but it is perhaps most commonly associated with substitute teachers and players in team sports who replace a player in the game. In both cases, the word is often shortened as sub. Example: Mr. Jones was sick today so we had a substitute.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intersubstitutability
  noun
• intersubstitution
  noun
• nonsubstitution
  noun
• presubstitution
  noun
• substitutability
  noun
• substituter
  noun
• substitution
  noun
• presubstitute
  verb (used with object)
• intersubstitutable
  adjective
• nonsubstituted
  adjective
• nonsubstitutional
  adjective
• nonsubstitutionary
  adjective
• prosubstitution
  adjective
• substitutable
  adjective
• substitutional
  adjective
• substitutionary
  adjective
• unsubstituted
  adjective
• nonsubstitutionally
  adverb
• substitutingly
  adverb
• substitutionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• substitutes
  plural

Participles

• substituting
  present
• substituted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• substitute
  simple
• substitutes
  simple
• have substituted
  perfect
• has substituted
  perfect
• am substituting
  progressive
• are substituting
  progressive
• is substituting
  progressive
• have been substituting
  perfect progressive
• has been substituting
  perfect progressive

Past

• substituted
  simple
• had substituted
  perfect
• was substituting
  progressive
• were substituting
  progressive
• had been substituting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will substitute
  simple
• will have substituted
  perfect
• will be substituting
  progressive
• will have been substituting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of substitute

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin substitūtus “replaced,” past participle of substituere “to put in place of,” from sub- sub- + -stituere, combining form of statuere “to set up, erect” ( see substituent)

Explanation

Something or someone that takes the place of another is said to be a substitute. You may be sent into a game as a substitute for an injured player, or you might substitute chocolate chips for blueberries in a pancake recipe. Substitute can be used as an adjective to describe something or someone that takes the place of another. Teenagers are notoriously hard on substitute teachers, sometimes giving them fake names or wrong information about classroom work. Substitute can also be used as a verb. So if you are asked to substitute for a teacher, you probably shouldn't believe everything the students tell you!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

substitute substitutes substituted substituting

But Suez is an outlet, not a full substitute.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

They said it has improved significantly over previous generations and can now effectively substitute for Nvidia chips on certain tasks—particularly inference, where trained models respond to user queries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

OpenAI's Drew Pusateri told the BBC's US news partner CBS News that "ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

In 2013, UC approved a data science course, submitted by Los Angeles Unified, to broaden math options, and by 2020 allowed such courses to substitute for advanced algebra.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

There was no substitute for working with three-dimensional materials.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

"While we found links to cognitive decline for middle-aged people both with and without diabetes, people with diabetes are more likely to use artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes," Suemoto said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Several widely used sugar substitutes may be associated with faster declines in memory and thinking skills over time, according to research published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Plus, Saka and/or Madueke may perhaps be more effective coming on as substitutes.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

That approach reflects a larger shift in the game in the age of five substitutes instead of three.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Although Jack and Ethel had just met Bobby that summer, they were fast becoming parental substitutes for him.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

He was substituted during the match with DR Congo, then used for one minute as England tried to salvage the match against Argentina.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Rice, who suffered with a sickness bug in the lead-up to Saturday's quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami, was substituted at half-time.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

This was the first time he had failed to score at the World Cup and, by the time he was substituted in extra-time, he had failed to register a single shot on target.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Ronaldo then looked gutted as he was substituted in the 81st minute of his 26th match at a World Cup.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

She took her time explaining the heart of the matter as she slipped her everyday bonnet from her head and substituted the flouncy, feathery one in its place.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

“Nostalgia is basically substituting what you feel now for what actually happened then, right? I have no nostalgia for childhood summers because nothing happened.”

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

It complements the expert while substituting for the intermediary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

Back in 2005, when Roberts rhapsodized about Indiana farmland and an endless horizon punctuated only by silos and barns, he was substituting a humble, real-life Midwest upbringing for his own.

From Slate ● May 7, 2026

She met Rachmaninoff in 1934, after substituting for him in a concert.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

As a result, architects relied on old and dangerous habits, such as substituting wood for stone and decorating their buildings with wooden awnings, cupolas, and cornices.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• backup
• replacement
• stand-in
• surrogate