Word.ws English Dictionary

in stead

in stead is the obsolete form of instead.

Meaning of instead

Adverb

instead (not comparable)

  1. In the place of something (usually mentioned earlier); as a substitute or alternative.
    • I was going to go shopping, but I went dancing instead.
    Synonyms:
    in lieu

Questions about in stead

What is in stead the obsolete form of?
In stead is the obsolete form of instead.

Words near in stead in the dictionary

  1. in state
  2. in statu nascendi
  3. in statu pupillari
  4. in statu quo
  5. in status nascendi
  6. in stead
  7. in stead of
  8. in steam
  9. in steed
  10. in step
  11. in stitches

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in stead (page history and authors); instead (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “in stead.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_stead. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.