How to use substitute in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Substitute means to use in place of something else, with the same function. Example: “I had no shallots so I substituted onion.”

Examples of substitute by meaning

verbTo use in place of something else, with the same function.

I had no shallots so I substituted onion.

verbTo use X in place of Y.

I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.

verbTo use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.

I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.
Oh, I substituted sleep for watching The Pitt."2026 January 21, Ally Beardlsey, my boss is sabotaging my clown career (w/ Ally Beardsley), Perfect Person (podcast) episode 185 (c. 14:18)

verbTo remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.

He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini.2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport

verbTo serve as a replacement (for someone or something).

Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.1987, James Tobin, Essays in Economics, Vol. 2, page 75

nounA replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes.1997, Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown, spoken by Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson)

nounA player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.

Dean Whitehead opened the scoring shortly after the break with a low finish and substitute Peter Crouch sealed the win with a tap-in.2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport

More sentences with substitute

Substitutes are only allowed onto the field after their boots are checked.From the entry field
Jones has been a substitute before, but made his first start for the team last Sunday.From the entry start
Starting in January we will raise (introduce) taxes on all tobacco substitutes and vaping accessories.From the entry raise
It's a passable substitute, but it will never measure up to the original.From the entry measure up
Among competing products, a generic substitute is one thing, whereas a deceptive lookalike is another.From the entry lookalike
In formal contexts, we can use 'that' and 'those' as substitutes meaning ‘the one(s)’.From the entry the one
Bio-materials may be substituted for petrochemical feedstocks as petroleum prices rise.From the entry feedstock
This reaction substitutes a potassium for a sodium.From the entry potassium
This reaction substitutes a ruthenium for an osmium.From the entry ruthenium
The substitute soon got wise to their particular tricks.From the entry get wise
That guy might be a few cards shy of a full deck — he thinks that substitute sugar is really a government tracking system.From the entry few cards shy of a full deck
When it comes to combat equipment and vehicle design, computer simulations and field tests are both crucial, and neither one can be a total substitute for the other.From the entry field test
But there is no substitute for leaders being out there, talking to colleagues, seeing conditions for themselves.2025 October 1, Richard Wilcock, “There is more to be proud of in the railway than we sometimes allow ourselves to see”, in RAIL, number…. From the entry with one's own eyes
She substituted the strobe light again, and the ghostlem swatted it out of her hand.2023 June 25, HarryBlank, “Transposthumousism”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2025. From the entry bring down
Or substitute dried cranberries to make fire ants on a log, just for fun!2014, Mom Knows Best Cookbook, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 45. From the entry ants on a log
My choice to substitute an Israeli sweet for a British sweet was regarded by some with derision.2014, Gili Bar-Hillel, “Bridging the Gastronomical Divide in Translating Children’s Literature”, in Bridget Carrington, Jennifer Harding…. From the entry krembo
City were outclassed thereafter and Roberto Mancini said that substitute Carlos Tevez refused to play.2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport. From the entry refuse
Substitute Niko Kranjcar's injury-time thunderbolt gave Tottenham a dramatic win over Bolton.2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC. From the entry thunderbolt
If you substitute beer for the gin, you've got a mantini.2011 October 11, Ted Stoltz, Universal Serendipity - Paperback, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 44. From the entry saketini
I thought of mayonnaising her racket handle or substituting it for sunblock, but decided against it.2009, David Galef, How to Cope With Suburban Stress. From the entry mayonnaise
If plinthers miss their slots, substitutes take over, as they would at an airline check-in desk.2009 July 7, Sarah Lyall, “Briefly Ascending to the Spotlight, Britons Take Their Place Among Giants”, in New York Times. From the entry plinthers
They could set the entire appeal down for reargument, with or without a substitute justice.2008 January 19, Adam Liptak, “West Virginia Judge Steps Out of Case Involving a Travel Companion”, in New York Times. From the entry reargument
Creamcheese can be substituted for Brie for an equally tasty munchie.2006, More Good Thymes in the Kitchen: An Expanded Collection of Recipes from The Thyme Garden, Alsea, Ore.: The Thyme Garden Herb…. From the entry munchie
A naturally sweet herb called stevia is gaining in popularity as a sugar substitute, especially in beverages.2006, Frances Sizer, Ellie Whitney, Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies, 10th edition, page 49. From the entry stevia
He was also considered the first ideologue, since he applied this word as a substitute for metaphysics.2005, Rodney P. Carlisle, editor, Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right, page 229. From the entry ideologue
When a government substitutes propaganda for governing, the Potemkin village is all.2005 December 11, Frank Rich, “It Takes a Potemkin Village”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2021. From the entry Potemkin village
The bland cashew is a fitting substitute for higher priced almonds to extend the nut texture.2004, Frederic Rosengarten, Jr., The Book of Edible Nuts, page 46. From the entry cashew
These pronouns can be termed adjectival on the basis of the fact that they substitute for adjectives.2002, Ronald F. Feldstein, Steven L. Franks, Polish, Lincom Europa, page 68. From the entry adjectival pronoun
I’s indicative of real people must be suppressed, even at the cost of substituting royal we’s.1999, Peter Gould, “[Thinking about Teaching] What Is Worth Teaching in Geography?”, in Becoming a Geographer, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse…. From the entry royal we
The number of plants used as substitutes for genuine tea is extremely large.1998, Louis Lewin, Phantastica: A Classic Survey on the Use and Abuse of Mind-Altering Plants. From the entry Brazilian tea
It evolved from diet food, milk substitute, and the base for pungent sauces into an appealing dessert.1997, Gregory K. Ericksen, “Gary Hirshberg: Stonyfield Farm: ‘A Business Plan for the Future: Hope’”, in What’s Luck Got to Do with It?…. From the entry yogurt maker

Meaning of substitute

verb To use in place of something else, with the same function.
verb To use X in place of Y.
verb To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.

Full definition of substitute

Questions about substitute in a sentence

How do you use substitute in a sentence?: Substitute is used as a verb and noun. For example: “I had no shallots so I substituted onion.”
What is a short sentence with substitute?: “I had no shallots so I substituted onion.”
What does substitute mean?: Substitute means to use in place of something else, with the same function.

Adapted from Wiktionary: substitute (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use substitute in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/substitute. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.