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substitute

verb, noun — 10 senses

substitute

verb

/ˈsʌb.stɪ.tʃuːt/ · /ˈsʌb.stɪ.tjuːt/

Etymology From Middle English substituten, from Latin substitutus, past participle of substituō, from sub- (“under; beneath”) + statuō (“to put up; establish”). Displaced native Old English spala (“a substitute”) and spelian (“to substitute”).

1

To use in place of something else, with the same function.

  • I had no shallots so I substituted onion.
2

To use X in place of Y.

In the phrase "substitute X for Y"

  • I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.
3

To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.

Formerly proscribed; often in the phrase "substitute X with/by Y"; sometimes "substitute X for Y"; formerly proscribed; often in the phrase "substitute X with/by Y"; sometimes "substitute X for Y"

  • I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.
  • You know when you first have a baby, and you're like "I'm gonna die 'cause I've never slept"? … and you get [an] hour and a half in the middle of the night that you get to sleep. Your partner's like, "I'll take care of this." … I used that hour and a half, instead of sleeping, to watch The Pitt. … The most panic inducing show. … I was just like I was like, "Why do I feel like vomiting 24/7? Oh, I substituted sleep for watching The Pitt."2026 January 21, Ally Beardlsey, my boss is sabotaging my clown career (w/ Ally Beardsley), Perfect Person (podcast) episode 185 (c. 14:18)
4

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.

  • He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
  • Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini.2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
5

To serve as a replacement (for someone or something).

  • Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.1987, James Tobin, Essays in Economics, Vol. 2, page 75:
Synonyms
exchange, swap
Derived terms
25 termsbisubstituted, bustitute, chlorosubstituted, cryosubstituted, disubstituted, heterosubstituted, homosubstituted, intersubstitute, monosubstituted, multisubstituted, nonsubstituted, pentasubstituted, persubstituted, polysubstituted, resubstitute, substitutability, substitutable, substitutee, substituter, substitutingly, substitutive, substitutor, tetrasubstituted, trisubstituted, unsubstituted

substitute

noun

Etymology From Middle English substituten, from Latin substitutus, past participle of substituō, from sub- (“under; beneath”) + statuō (“to put up; establish”). Displaced native Old English spala (“a substitute”) and spelian (“to substitute”).

1

A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

  • Ladies [in William Shakespeare's age], again, universally wore masks as the sole substitute known to our ancestors for the modern parasol; a fact, perhaps, not generally known.1840 February, Thomas De Quincey, “Theory of Greek Tragedy”, in Leaders in Literature with a Notice of Traditional Errors Affecting Them (De Quincey’s Works; IX), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, footnote *, page 55:
  • Since you left me, if you see me with another girl / Seeming like I'm having fun / Although she may be cute, she's just a substitute / Because you're the permanent one1965, “The Tracks of My Tears”, in Going to a Go-Go, performed by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles:
2 more examples
  • No other love before / Could do what you do / A little so much (Oh) / So much more from you / No one else will do / There's no substitute / Your love's the finest love I've ever known / Ooh-ooh-ooh1986, The S.O.S. Band, “The Finest”, in Sands of Time:
  • Here we go. AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes.1997, Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown, spoken by Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson):
2

A substitute teacher.

3

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.

  • Dean Whitehead opened the scoring shortly after the break with a low finish and substitute Peter Crouch sealed the win with a tap-in.2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:
4

Historical One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.

5

Economics, Sciences Abbreviation Abbreviation of substitute good.

Synonyms
fill-in, ghost, proxy, replacement, stand-in, substitute, surrogate
Derived terms
milk substitute, salt substitute, service as a software substitute, sheriff-substitute, substitute teacher, sugar substitute
Related terms
alternative, changeling, standby, counterpart, decoy
Hyponyms
alternate, backup, dummy, makeshift, reserve, spare, bench-warmer, body double, deputy, double, ghost writer, ghost band, ghost singer, non-union Mexican equivalent, stunt double, stuntman, stuntwoman, understudy, margarine, soy milk, sweetener, tofu

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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