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 Supersede implies that that which is replacing another is an improvement: The computer has superseded the typewriter.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:
Yuki Tsunoda, back on the grid to replace Lawson at Racing Bulls, was 12th.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in Congress and finish his current term.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Paz named the current environment minister, Oscar Mario Justiniano Pinto, to replace Espinoza in an interim capacity.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
GM said it would either provide owners with a higher-viscosity oil or replace the engine entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Mrs. Contreras had bought him a new backpack to replace the one that was ripping apart, but nothing could cheer him up.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
He was previously an appeals court judge in Florida and replaces Judge Roy Altman, who had also been nominated by Trump in 2019.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 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
And one in five Americans believes Social Security is all that’s necessary, even though it replaces only 40% of the average worker’s wages when retiring at age 65.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Sanjay Gaba, president of the All India Gig and Platform Workers Union, said the system simply replaces one form of exploitation with another.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
It was rather like a new garment that replaces an old: desired but not yet comfortable.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Since Iraola replaced Arne Slot as Liverpool head coach, the Reds have signed Victor Munoz for £34.5m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
And as each of their five full-length albums replaced their previous as my new favorite record, I’ve been consistently surprised that more people aren’t constantly talking about this band and how amazing they are.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Big changes are coming to Apple in September, when Tim Cook will step down as CEO and will be replaced by hardware chief John Ternus.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rather than shelve the movie, Scott — ever the problem solver — replaced him with Christopher Plummer and reshot 22 scenes just weeks before it was due in theaters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
With fewer birds to eat the insects, their population exploded, and the sweet sound of birdsong was replaced with the constant buzzing of scaly little wings.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
"We will be replacing parts, updating technology and testing them to see that they can lift at full capacity."
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“The latest decrease was driven mainly by smaller businesses, which cite labor and operating costs as reasons for not hiring new staff or replacing leavers,” McKeown added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The spacewalk is scheduled to start at 1235 GMT and last six and a half hours, with the goal of replacing a space-to-ground antenna on the orbital complex, according to NASA.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
And replacing Diablo’s steady power with a combination of solar and batteries would be technically possible but increasingly expensive, particularly during the periods of highest demand, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Why did Austronesian people, stemming ultimately from mainland China, colonize Java and the rest of Indonesia and replace the original inhabitants there, instead of Indonesians colonizing China and replacing the Chinese?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
