replacement
Americannoun
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replacements
plural
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the act of replacing.
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a person or thing that replaces another.
summer replacements for vacationing staff; a replacement for a broken dish.
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Military. a sailor, soldier, or airman assigned to fill a vacancy in a military unit.
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Also called metasomatism. Geology. the process of practically simultaneous removal and deposition by which a new mineral grows in the body of an old one.
noun
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the act or process of replacing
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a person or thing that replaces another
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geology the growth of a mineral within another of different chemical composition by gradual simultaneous deposition and removal
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Also called: petrification. a process of fossilization by gradual substitution of mineral matter for the original organic matter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of replacement
Explanation
A replacement is the thing that fills in for something that's missing, or the act of substituting for the missing thing. The replacement for your absent teacher is an annoying substitute. Sigh. When kids lose their baby teeth, replacements soon grow in their places. And when kids need to have their teeth cleaned but their dentist is on vacation, her replacement will be in charge of taking x-rays and checking for cavities. Replacement comes from the verb replace, which adds the "back" prefix re- to place, "to put somewhere."
Vocabulary lists containing replacement
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:
Southern says Cooksbridge and Plumpton will also not be served all weekend, with rail replacement buses operating.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Tickets were being accepted on alternative Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services with rail replacement buses arranged for travel to Lewes and to Haywards Heath.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Following that article, more than 1,600 readers wrote in with their stories of owning and shopping for an EV—or a replacement for one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The same Spencer Stuart recruiter who brought Masino to Cracker Barrel was also retained to find her replacement, according to people familiar with the search.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
One morning the photographer gave Mudgett a broken block of wood and asked him to take it to the town wagon maker for a replacement.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
At the same time, those efforts should not be presented as replacements for deeper changes within organizations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
The Los Angeles water system is so old — and money for replacements is exceedingly scarce — that officials are left playing a dangerous game of triage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
However, England replacements Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun were next to be sent to the sin-bin, making for a nervy finish.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
In other words, the Dodgers seemingly have a limitless supply of MLB-ready replacements at every position.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
She offered to let me interview Carla’s potential replacements, but I declined.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
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.
