substitute: Meaning and Definition of

sub•sti•tute

Pronunciation: (sub'sti-tt", -tyt"), [key]
— n., v., adj. -tut•ed, -tut•ing,
—n.
  1. a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.
  2. (formerly) a person who, for payment, served in an army or navy in the place of a conscript.
  3. a word that functions as a replacement for any member of a class of words or constructions, as do in He doesn't know but I do.
—v.t.
  1. to put (a person or thing) in the place of another.
  2. to take the place of; replace.
  3. to replace (one or more elements or groups in a compound) by other elements or groups.
—v.i.
  1. to act as a substitute.
—adj.
  1. of or pertaining to a substitute or substitutes.
  2. composed of substitutes.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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