substitute

American  

[suhb-sti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈsʌb stɪˌtut, -ˌtjut /

noun

• substitutes
  plural

1. a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

   Synonyms:

   equivalent, replacement, alternative

2. (formerly) a person who, for payment, served in an army or navy in the place of a conscript.

3. Grammar. a word that functions as a replacement for any member of a class of words or constructions, as do in He doesn't know but I do.

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verb (used with object)

• substitutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• substituted,
  past participle,  past
• substituting
  present participle

1. to put (a person or thing) in the place of another.

2. to take the place of; replace.

3. Chemistry. to replace (one or more elements or groups in a compound) by other elements or groups.

verb (used without object)

• substitutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• substituted,
  past participle,  past
• substituting
  present participle

1. to act as a substitute.

adjective

1. of or relating to a substitute or substitutes.

2. composed of substitutes.

substitute British  

/ ˈsʌbstɪˌtjuːt /

verb

1. (often foll by for) to serve or cause to serve in place of another person or thing

2. chem to replace (an atom or group in a molecule) with (another atom or group)

3. logic maths to replace (one expression) by (another) in the context of a third, as replacing x + y for x in 3 x = k gives 3 x + 3 y = k

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noun

1. 1. a person or thing that serves in place of another, such as a player in a game who takes the place of an injured colleague

   2. Often shortened to: sub. ( as modifier )

      a substitute goalkeeper

2. grammar another name for pro-form

3. another name for supply teacher

4. nautical another word for repeater

5. (formerly) a person paid to replace another due for military service

Usage

What does substitute mean? A substitute is someone or something that takes the place of another person or thing. As a verb, to substitute means to make such a switch. Substitute is used in a variety of contexts, but it is perhaps most commonly associated with substitute teachers and players in team sports who replace a player in the game. In both cases, the word is often shortened as sub. Example: Mr. Jones was sick today so we had a substitute.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intersubstitutability
  noun
• intersubstitution
  noun
• nonsubstitution
  noun
• presubstitution
  noun
• substitutability
  noun
• substituter
  noun
• substitution
  noun
• presubstitute
  verb (used with object)
• intersubstitutable
  adjective
• nonsubstituted
  adjective
• nonsubstitutional
  adjective
• nonsubstitutionary
  adjective
• prosubstitution
  adjective
• substitutable
  adjective
• substitutional
  adjective
• substitutionary
  adjective
• unsubstituted
  adjective
• nonsubstitutionally
  adverb
• substitutingly
  adverb
• substitutionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• substitutes
  plural

Participles

• substituting
  present
• substituted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• substitute
  simple
• substitutes
  simple
• have substituted
  perfect
• has substituted
  perfect
• am substituting
  progressive
• are substituting
  progressive
• is substituting
  progressive
• have been substituting
  perfect progressive
• has been substituting
  perfect progressive

Past

• substituted
  simple
• had substituted
  perfect
• was substituting
  progressive
• were substituting
  progressive
• had been substituting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will substitute
  simple
• will have substituted
  perfect
• will be substituting
  progressive
• will have been substituting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of substitute

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin substitūtus “replaced,” past participle of substituere “to put in place of,” from sub- sub- + -stituere, combining form of statuere “to set up, erect” ( see substituent)

Explanation

Something or someone that takes the place of another is said to be a substitute. You may be sent into a game as a substitute for an injured player, or you might substitute chocolate chips for blueberries in a pancake recipe. Substitute can be used as an adjective to describe something or someone that takes the place of another. Teenagers are notoriously hard on substitute teachers, sometimes giving them fake names or wrong information about classroom work. Substitute can also be used as a verb. So if you are asked to substitute for a teacher, you probably shouldn't believe everything the students tell you!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

substitute substitutes substituted substituting

In particular, future studies will need to test how well these fungi perform with actual lunar and Martian regolith rather than simulations or other substitute materials.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Normally, Group II base oils could substitute for Group III, but those also are in short supply because refiners are giving priority to feedstocks for fuel rather than for base oils.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“I’m thrilled they can now substitute research collaboration sessions for legal strategy meetings,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The Argentina forward has played just 31 minutes for Villa, spread across three substitute appearances.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

I feel like I’m in class, watching a heated exchange between the troublemaker kids and the substitute teacher.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

It was lax marking that led to Odegaard's winner, while a lack of creativity from the bench left Chelsea short as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta's substitutes ultimately helped guide the hosts to victory.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

Many processed foods contain several forms of sugar and sugar substitutes at the same time.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

JPMorgan said the humanoids can be complements rather than substitutes for human labor.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

In most cases, demographic reports have become substitutes for the harder work of investigating actual complaints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The school was able to provide substitutes for their classes, but not everyone’s.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

Ronaldo started that game but was substituted in the 67th minute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Hendry's night ended woefully early and so did Kieron Bowie's, the striker substituted in the wake of the red, an innocent victim of a dreadful error.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

They also substituted bamboo biochar for cement at concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Kane started all seven of England's matches up to the semi-final and was substituted only twice - both times late on with the game already won.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Because he hadn’t been in the citadel and seen how everything was mesarthium, he substituted rough wooden cribs—little more than open crates—like the ones the monks kept infant orphans in at the abbey.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

In fact, substituting toys for all hazards and unwanted behaviors are excellent protective measures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

"Instead of changing the team's tactics or style of play, Hong simply tried to solve the problem by substituting players."

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Vermeer eschewed easy narrative deduction, Mr. Graham-Dixon writes, by substituting the map with a blank wall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Nostalgia is basically substituting what you feel now for what actually happened then, right? I have no nostalgia for childhood summers because nothing happened.”

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

In being man-made — by ingenious laboratory manipulation of the molecules, substituting atoms, altering their arrangement — they differ sharply from the simpler insecticides of prewar days.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• backup
• replacement
• stand-in
• surrogate