(~s, substituting, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ one thing for another, or if one thing ~s for another, it takes the place or performs the function of the other thing.
They were substituting violence for dialogue...
You could always ~ a low-fat soft cheese...
Would phone conversations ~ for cosy chats over lunch or in the pub after work?...
He was substituting for the injured William Wales.
VERB: V n for n, V n, V for n, V for n
substitution (substitutions)
In my experience a straight substitution of carob for chocolate doesn’t work...
N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n
2.
A ~ is something that you have or use instead of something else.
...tests on humans to find a blood ~ made from animal blood.
N-COUNT: oft N for n
3.
If you say that one thing is no ~ for another, you mean that it does not have certain desirable features that the other thing has, and is therefore unsatisfactory. If you say that there is no ~ for something, you mean that it is the only thing which is really satisfactory.
The printed word is no ~ for personal discussion with a great thinker...
There is no ~ for practical experience.
N-COUNT: with neg, usu sing, N for n
4.
In team games such as football, a ~ is a player who is brought into a match to replace another player.
Coming on as a ~, he scored four crucial goals for Cameroon.
N-COUNT