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

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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)

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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

His record as a substitute in the Premier League, however, remains among the greatest.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

That meant Germany could not simply substitute graphite for heavy water to overcome its supply problems.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The ministry last week promised 3,000 substitute teachers for the country's 114 worst-affected secondary schools, and said on Wednesday it had already dispatched 2,000.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The England international pieced together an impressive substitute CV throughout his Premier League career.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Travis,” I said, “I have found you three substitute turkeys. I’ve found a man who’ll trade. But you can’t watch. You have to say good-bye to them tonight. It’s better this way, do you understand?”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

“Even in spite of these efforts, many lower-income households now have rising credit-card and consumer-debt balances. It’s hard to find substitutes for necessities like housing,” Smith said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

But with some of these higher-protein, higher-fiber options, I’m using substitutes like protein pasta or bone broth rice to keep eating the things I want to eat while being a little more macro-conscious.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Just four players remain from the starting eleven and substitutes from the night they beat Inter Milan in Istanbul to win the continent's biggest club prize.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Instead they were usually relegated to indoor rowing tanks, poor substitutes for the real thing.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Welbeck, 35, was tidy in possession but, with little service, managed only 17 touches before being substituted in the 71st minute.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The relationship between the Cameroon international and Lyon's ultras fractured further when he stormed down the tunnel and kicked a rubbish bin in frustration after being substituted during a 2-1 home defeat by Strasbourg.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 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

“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

Egypt manager Hossam Hassan even had to speak out before the match to deny any fall out with Salah - after substituting him during the draw with Belgium.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

For policymakers, AI is simultaneously substituting and complementing different parts of the same workflow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The top had a decoupage portrait of a nineteenth-century princess twisting a pearl necklace, which Phil had altered by substituting my face.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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Related Words

• backup
• replacement
• stand-in
• surrogate

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