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replace

verb

Simple meaning

To put something new in the place of something old or broken.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹipˈleɪs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Take the place or move into the position of

    “Smith replaced Miller as CEO after Miller left.”

  2. transitive

    To take the place of; to be used instead of.

  3. transitive

    To take over the position or role from.

  4. transitive

    To restore to a former place, position, condition, etc.; to put back.

  5. transitive

    To supply or substitute an equivalent with.

  6. transitive

    To refund; to repay; to pay back.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Take the place or move into the position of

Used this way, replace is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“Smith replaced Miller as CEO after Miller left.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use replace

  • “Smith replaced Miller as CEO after Miller left.”verb
  • “The con artist replaced the original with a fake Rembrandt.”verb
  • “He replaced the old razor blade.”verb

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • replacingnounInflected form

    The act of furnishing an equivalent person or thing in the place of another.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • replacementnounDerived noun

    The act of furnishing an equivalent person or thing in the place of another.

  • replaceableadjectiveDerived adjective

    Capable of being replaced.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: take the place or move into the position of

substitute

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.