Definition of "substitute"

substitute

/ˈsʌbstɪtʃuːt/

verb
third-person singular simple present substitutes, present participle substituting, simple past and past participle substituted
1. (transitive) To use in place of something else, with the same function.
2. (transitive, in the phrase "substitute X for Y") To use X in place of Y.
3. (transitive, formerly proscribed, in the phrase "substitute X with/by Y") To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.
4. (transitive, sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
  Quotations
  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. (intransitive) To serve as a replacement (for someone or something).
  Quotations
  Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.
  1987, James Tobin, Essays in Economics, Vol. 2, page 75
noun
plural substitutes
1. A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
  Quotations
  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, “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, 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 one
  1965, “The Tracks of My Tears”, in Going to a Go-Go, performed by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
  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. (sports) A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
  Quotations
  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
3. (historical) One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.
4. (economics) Abbreviation of substitute good.

Definition of "substitute"

substitute

verb

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noun

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