replacement
Americannoun
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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.
Replacement floor mats and an intense detailing could go a long way to boosting its curb appeal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
Replacement rates are reported for career workers at the average wage, as well as for those earning half and twice the average wage.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
At first blush, his lifetime Wins Above Replacement of 0.3 would indicate that he’s little better than the fictional minor league “replacement player” to which MLB players are compared in calculating the statistic.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
Replacement ballot packs have been hand-delivered, with a small number sent via priority mail where appropriate.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
I was assigned to the Twenty-second Replacement Company.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
