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:
A search, led by Excel Search & Advisory, is under way for her replacement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Even with replacement prop Mona Lisa Tupou being sent to the sin bin for a scrum infringement, their resistance and physicality stayed high and was rewarded with Zackary's late score.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
No reason was given for Sylvia's departure and no replacement has been named, The Atlantic said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
It is prone to breakdowns and difficult to fix, as replacement parts and specialized engineers are in short supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The fracas escalated, and Bobby was told that a replacement player would take his place if he refused to play.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Understanding how the retina creates its specialized light-sensitive cells could eventually help scientists produce healthy replacements in the laboratory.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
Nevertheless, sources have told BBC Sport that the club have shortlisted former Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and ex-Germany and Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann as potential replacements for Carrick.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Both Dalton and Basinski were able to get replacements at their local Apple Stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
For example, investors earlier this year broadly dumped software stocks as they worried that AI would be able to create inexpensive replacements for established software.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
But she had refused to, until he had replacements; and so he’d been caught in shoes that swooped up gaily at the toes, like a clown’s.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
