substitute

[suhb-sti-toot, -tyoot]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

substituted, substituting 

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)

substituted, substituting 

1. to act as a substitute.

adjective

1. of or relating to a substitute or substitutes.

2. composed of substitutes.

substitute

/ 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

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

Substitute is sometimes wrongly used where replace is meant: he replaced (not substituted ) the worn tyre with a new one

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of substitute¹

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” ( substituent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of substitute¹

C16: from Latin substituere, from sub- in place of + statuere to set up

Example Sentences

On 5 September 2020 - 69 days after he was stabbed - Wisdom made an 85th-minute substitute appearance in a League Cup tie against Barrow.

From BBC

Winger Dan James played the full 90 minutes of Wales' friendly against Canada - a 1-0 defeat - before coming on as a substitute in their narrow 1-0 World Cup qualifier win over Kazakhstan.

From BBC

Moscow has already substituted the rest with its own production.

From BBC

He won a league title for the club and came on as a substitute in the 2004 FA Cup final victory over Millwall.

From BBC

It was a bitter blow and one Scotland would not recover from as Canada marched down the other end and powered over the line through substitute Kassil.

From BBC

Related Words

• backup 
• replacement 
• stand-in 
• surrogate 

When To Use

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.