replace meaning and definition

REPLACE verb

Definition of replace (verb)

1. 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"
2. take the place or move into the position of
   • "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"
   • synonyms: supercede, supersede, supervene upon, supplant
3. put something back where it belongs
   • "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"
   • synonyms: put back
4. put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items
   • "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"
   • synonyms: exchange, interchange, substitute