irreplaceable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- irreplaceably adverb
Etymology
Origin of irreplaceable
First recorded in 1800–10; ir- 2 + replaceable
Explanation
The adjective irreplaceable describes anything that's one of a kind, particularly if it has deep sentimental value to you, like your grandmother's irreplaceable engagement ring. When you replace something, you get something that's just like it, but if something is irreplaceable, there's just no substitute. It might be a special thing given to you by a loved one, like your great-grandfather's pocket watch or something that can't be made again, like an irreplaceable painting or an old floor made from a species of wood that's no longer harvested.
Vocabulary lists containing irreplaceable
Kindred
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A Tangle of Knots
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Week 4 Spelling
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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.
But it is copper, now an irreplaceable metal for the economy, that has become the object of global strategic contention.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
He is irreplaceable, the drop-off after him alarming.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Helium plays an irreplaceable part in the manufacturing process for semiconductor chips and Qatar supplies a third of the global output.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
“And that’s the central tension of this world: the promise of efficiency versus the irreplaceable process of being human.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026
Both had replaced Stonewall Jackson, who was perhaps irreplaceable.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
