Substitute

How to spell substitute

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce substitute

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does substitute mean?

1. verbTo use one thing or person in place of another.
2. nounA person or thing that takes the place of another.

Substitute in a sentence

• verb

  The recipe lets you substitute honey for sugar.

• noun

  The regular teacher was ill, so a substitute took the class.

• verb

  The coach decided to substitute a fresh player for the injured striker.

• noun

  There is no real substitute for hard work and preparation.

Where does substitute come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin substitutus, the past participle of substituere, meaning 'to put in place of' or 'to set up under'. It was formed from sub, meaning 'under' or 'in place of', joined to statuere, 'to set up or establish', which itself grew from status, 'standing or position'. English adopted it in the fifteenth century, first as a noun for a deputy or someone appointed to act for another, and the verb sense of putting one thing in the place of another followed soon after. The same statuere root surfaces in a whole family of English words such as 'statute', 'institute', and 'constitute', all carrying the idea of setting something firmly in place. That hidden 'stit' cluster (from statuere) is the part writers most often fumble, since the unstressed middle of the word offers no obvious clue to the second 't'.

How the word is built

• sub- (under, in place of)
• -stitut- (from statuere: to set up, place)
• -e