I. ˌsubstitute ˈteacher BrE AmE ( also substitute , sub informal ) noun [countable]
American English a teacher who teaches a class when the usual teacher is ill SYN supply teacher British English
II. sub ‧ sti ‧ tute 1 AC /ˈsʌbstətjuːt, ˈsʌbstɪtjuːt $ -tuːt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ substitute , ↑ substitution ; verb : ↑ substitute ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of substituere 'to put in place of' , from statuere ; ⇨ ↑ statute ]
1 . ( also sub informal ) someone who does someone else’s job for a limited period of time, especially in a sports team or school:
Germany brought on a substitute at half time.
substitute goalkeeper
substitute for
The coach has to find a substitute for Tim.
2 . a person or thing that you use instead of the one that you usually have, because the usual one is not available:
a sugar substitute
a father substitute
3 . be no substitute for something used to emphasize that something is not as good as another thing:
Vitamin pills are no substitute for a healthy diet.
III. substitute 2 AC BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ substitute , ↑ substitution ; verb : ↑ substitute ]
1 . [transitive] to use something new or different instead of something else
substitute something for something
The recipe says you can substitute yoghurt for the sour cream.
2 . [intransitive] to do someone’s job until the person who usually does it is able to do it again SYN stand in
substitute for
Bill substituted for Larry, who was off sick.
3 . [transitive] to replace someone with another person, especially another player:
Michael Owen had to be substituted after 20 minutes on the field.