substitution
Britishnoun
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the act of substituting or state of being substituted
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something or someone substituted
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maths the replacement of a term of an equation by another that is known to have the same value in order to simplify the equation
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maths logic
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the uniform replacement of one expression by another
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an expression so derived from another
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Explanation
The noun substitution refers to the act of replacing one thing with another. Your football coach might make a substitution by sending you onto the field to take over for a player who is tired or injured. Substitution comes from the Middle French word of the same spelling, meaning "a putting in place of another." You might notice that substitution contains the root word substitute, and that's a good way to remember the meaning of the word. In school, a substitute is a temporary teacher who fills in when your regular teacher is out — in other words, a substitution has been made until your teacher returns.
Vocabulary lists containing substitution
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Genetics - Middle School
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A Soccer and a Football Special
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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.
Replacing real consumption with digital simulation might sound unusual, but behavioral scientists say substitution mechanisms like this can help.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Sometimes you want to make a substitution to an order without worrying whether it will get lost between the person wearing the headset and the person assembling your food.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
With Rushing back on the IL for the same elbow injury, Feduccia can also serve as a left-handed bat off the bench, and Alfonzo gives the team more substitution flexibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
North American bartenders on Reddit asked for substitution and shipping suggestions in bids to re-create the spritz they tried in Europe, while local publications later wrote guides to finding the cocktail in their area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
If you want to get really complicated, you can apply both transposition and substitution to the same message.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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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.
