substitute
To use in place of something else, with the same function.
Verb 4 meanings
To use in place of something else, with the same function.
“I had no shallots so I substituted onion.”
To use X in place of Y.
“I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.”
To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.
“I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.”
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”
Noun 3 meanings
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.
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”).
Similar and opposite words
SUBSTITUTE at a glance
SUBSTITUTE has 10 letters and scores 12 points in Scrabble (S 1 + U 1 + B 3 + S 1 + T 1 + I 1 + T 1 + U 1 + T 1 + E 1) and 15 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #5,360 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with substitute
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