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• stead
  stead

  noun

  the place of a person or thing as occupied by a successor or substitute.
• Stead
  Stead

  noun

  Christina ( Ellen ). 1902–83, Australian novelist. Her works include Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934), The Man who Loved Children (1940), and Cotters' England (1966)

stead

American  

[sted] / stɛd /

noun

1. the place of a person or thing as occupied by a successor or substitute.

   The nephew of the queen came in her stead.

2. Obsolete. a place or locality.

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verb (used with object)

1. to be of service, advantage, or avail to.

idioms

1. stand in good stead, to be useful to, especially in a critical situation.

   Your experience will stand you in good stead.

stead ¹ British  

/ stɛd /

noun

1. rare (preceded by in) the place, function, or position that should be taken by another

   to come in someone's stead

2. to be useful or of good service to (someone)

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verb

1. archaic (tr) to help or benefit

Stead ² British  

/ stɛd /

noun

1. Christina ( Ellen ). 1902–83, Australian novelist. Her works include Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934), The Man who Loved Children (1940), and Cotters' England (1966)

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stead More Idioms  

1. see in someone's shoes (stead); stand in good stead. Also see under instead.

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Etymology

Origin of stead

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English stede; cognate with German Stätte place; akin to German Stadt, Old Norse stathr, Gothic staths, Greek stásis ( see stasis); (v.) Middle English steden, derivative of the noun

Explanation

Someone's stead is their position, or occupation. The eager understudy to starring role leapt at the chance to serve in the lead actor's stead when he mysteriously got food poisoning. Stead comes from the Germanic root for "place, town," but we usually use it for a person's place, and most frequently when someone is serving as a substitute. If you serve in someone's stead, you're doing their job for them while they're not there. You probably intuitively know this word from the more common instead, which is just a shortening for "in the stead of."

Example Sentences

"It would have effectively followed the route of the old tram," says Clifford Stead from Leeds Civic Trust.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

Westlake 4, Newbury Park 1: Noah Stead hit a walk-off three-run home run in the seventh inning for Westlake.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2025

Among them are Nick Cummins and Jamie Stead, who were both part of ParalympicsGB's gold medal-winning wheelchair rugby side at the Tokyo games in 2021.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025

Westlake 4, Paracelete 3: Noah Stead had the walk-off RBI single in the seventh.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2025

Like Stead, civic authorities throughout the world saw the fair as a model of what to strive for.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson