re ‧ place S2 W1 /rɪˈpleɪs/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ place , ↑ placement , ↑ placing , ↑ displacement , ↑ replacement ; verb : ↑ place , ↑ displace , ↑ misplace , ↑ replace ; adjective : ↑ displaced , ↑ misplaced , ↑ replaceable ]
1 . to start doing something instead of another person, or start being used instead of another thing:
I’m replacing Sue on the team.
Lectures have replaced the old tutorial system.
2 . to remove someone from their job or something from its place, and put a new person or thing there:
Two of the tyres had to be replaced.
replace something with something
They replaced the permanent staff with part-timers.
3 . if you replace something that has been broken, stolen etc, you get a new one ⇨ irreplaceable :
I’ll replace the vase I broke as soon as possible.
4 . to put something back where it was before:
He replaced the book on the shelf.
—replaceable adjective
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REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say put something back rather than replace something:
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Don't forget to put the books back when you've finished.
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THESAURUS
■ a person
▪ replace if one person replaces another, they do a job or activity instead of the other person, usually permanently:
The opposition leader Zhelyu Zhelev was elected to replace him.
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How will we ever find anyone who can replace you?
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The lead singer was replaced by Ray Willis back in 1992.
▪ take somebody's place/take the place of somebody to do something instead of someone:
It will be difficult to find someone to take her place.
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Doctor Rice is on holiday. I'm taking his place.
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The court may allow another relative to take the place of the parent.
▪ take over to replace someone in a job or position, and continue their work:
The new manager took over in July.
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Sales are up (=they have increased) since he took over the company.
▪ stand in for somebody to replace someone at work on a particular occasion:
She was filming in Australia, so she asked a friend to stand in for her at the awards ceremony.
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During the dangerous scenes, stuntmen and women stand in for the actors.
▪ fill in for somebody to replace someone in a job for a short time:
Susan will fill in for me while I'm away.
■ a thing
▪ replace if one thing replaces another, it is used instead of the other thing, usually permanently:
The car was old and needed replacing.
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Computers have replaced typewriters.
▪ take something's place/take the place of something to be used instead of another thing:
If any of the eight units fails, its place will be taken by the back-up unit.
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MP3 players are taking the place of CDs.
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Ugly concrete apartment buildings have taken the place of the old houses.
▪ supersede to take the place of something – used especially about inventions, methods, organizations etc:
The League of Nations was superseded by the United Nations in 1946.
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Analysis by manual calculation has been superseded by more modern computer-based methods.
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Goose used to be a traditional Christmas bird until turkey superseded it in popularity.
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Iron began to supersede bronze for tool making about 3000 years ago.
▪ substitute something for something to use something instead of the thing that you usually use, because the usual thing is not available – used especially about food:
You can substitute margarine for butter in most recipes.