substitute

Substitute is defined as a person or thing acting in place of something else.

(noun)

An example of a substitute is a shirt offered at a store when the original shirt listed in a sale flyer has sold out.

Substitute means to use something instead of the originally needed item or to have a person do something for another.

(verb)

An example of to substitute is to use applesauce instead of oil in a recipe.
An example of to substitute is to have someone run for a hitter in a baseball game.

The definition of substitute is someone or something used in place of another person or thing.

(adjective)

An example of substitute used as an adjective is a substitute teacher who comes in when a teacher is sick.

See substitute in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a person or thing serving or used in place of another
Gram. any word or word group, as a pronoun, the verb to do, etc., used in place of another word or words (Ex.: did for shouted in “she shouted and he did, too”)

Origin: ME < L substitutus, pp. of substituere, to put instead of < sub-, under + statuere, to put, place: see statue

intransitive verb

to act or serve in place of another: often with for

adjective

being a substitute or substitutes

Related Forms:

See substitute in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

One that takes the place of another; a replacement: “Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality” (Barbara Grizzuti Harrison).
Grammar A word or construction used in place of another word, phrase, or clause.

verb sub·sti·tut·ed, sub·sti·tut·ing, sub·sti·tutes

verb, transitive

To put or use (a person or thing) in place of another: “substituting moral power for physical force” (Elizabeth Cady Stanton).
Chemistry To replace (one or more elements or radicals in a compound) by other elements or radicals.

verb, intransitive

To take the place of another: “Only art can substitute for nature” (Leonard Bernstein).

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French substitut

Origin: , from Latin substitūtus

Origin: , past participle of substituere, to substitute

Origin: : sub-, in place of; see sub-

Origin: + statuere, to cause to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots

Related Forms: