replace Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb substitute a person or thing for (another that is broken or inefficient or lost or no longer working or yielding what is expected)
- He replaced the old razor blade
- We need to replace the secretary that left a month ago
- the insurance will replace the lost income
- This antique vase can never be replaced
verb take the place or move into the position of
supercede; supplant; supersede; supervene upon.
- Smith replaced Miller as CEO after Miller left
- the computer has supplanted the slide rule
- Mary replaced Susan as the team's captain and the highest-ranked player in the school
verb put something back where it belongs
put back.
- replace the book on the shelf after you have finished reading it
- please put the clean dishes back in the cabinet when you have washed them
verb put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
interchange; exchange; substitute.
- the con artist replaced the original with a fake Rembrandt
- substitute regular milk with fat-free milk
- synonyms can be interchanged without a changing the context's meaning

Pref. re- + place: cf. F. replacer.

To place again; to restore to a former place, position, condition, or the like.
The earl . . . was replaced in his government. Bacon.
To refund; to repay; to restore; as, to replace a sum of money borrowed.
To supply or substitute an equivalent for; as, to replace a lost document.
With Israel, religion replaced morality. M. Arnold.
To take the place of; to supply the want of; to fulfull the end or office of.
This duty of right intention does not replace or supersede the duty of consideration. Whewell.
To put in a new or different place. ✍ The propriety of the use of replace instead of displace, supersede, take the place of, as in the third and fourth definitions, is often disputed on account of etymological discrepancy; but the use has been sanctioned by the practice of careful writers.