substitute

Plural: substitutes

Noun

• a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another
• an athlete who plays only when a starter on the team is replaced
• someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)
• A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
• A substitute teacher.
• A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
• One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.
• Abbreviation of substitute good.

Verb

• put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
  • "substitute regular milk with fat-free milk"
• be a substitute
  • "The young teacher had to substitute for the sick colleague"
  • "The skim milk substitutes for cream--we are on a strict diet"
• act as a substitute
• To use in place of something else, with the same function.
• To use X in place of Y.
• To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.
• To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
• To serve as a replacement (for someone or something).

Adjective Satellite

• capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team
• serving or used in place of another
• artificial and inferior
  • "substitute coffee"

Examples

• He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
• I had no shallots so I substituted onion.
• I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.
• I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.

Synonyms

alternate, alternative, backup, backup man, deputise, deputize, ersatz, exchange, fill in, fill-in, interchange, relief, reliever, replace, replacement, reserve, second-stringer, stand in, stand-in, step in, sub, utility, ghost, proxy, substituend, substitute, surrogate, swap

Antonyms

substituend, substituendum

Related Words

alternative, changeling, counterpart, decoy, standby

Anagrams of substitute