re‧place S2 W1 / rɪpleɪs / 动词 [及物动词]

1 to start doing something instead of another person, or start being used instead of another thing :

I’m replacing Sue on the team.

Lectures have replaced the old tutorial system.

2 to remove someone from their job or something from its place, and put a new person or thing there :

Two of the tyres had to be replaced.

replace something with something

They replaced the permanent staff with part-timers.

3 if you replace something that has been broken, stolen etc, you get a new one → irreplaceable :

I’ll replace the vase I broke as soon as possible.

4 to put something back where it was before :

He replaced the book on the shelf.

— replaceable 形容词

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In everyday English, people usually say put something back rather than replace something:

Don’t forget to put the books back when you’ve finished.

THESAURUS

a person

replace if one person replaces another, they do a job or activity instead of the other person, usually permanently : The opposition leader Zhelyu Zhelev was elected to replace him. | How will we ever find anyone who can replace you? | The lead singer was replaced by Ray Willis back in 1992.

take somebody’s place/take the place of somebody to do something instead of someone : It will be difficult to find someone to take her place. | Doctor Rice is on holiday. I’m taking his place. | The court may allow another relative to take the place of the parent.

take over to replace someone in a job or position, and continue their work : The new manager took over in July. | Sales are up (= they have increased ) since he took over the company.

stand in for somebody to replace someone at work on a particular occasion : She was filming in Australia, so she asked a friend to stand in for her at the awards ceremony. | During the dangerous scenes, stuntmen and women stand in for the actors.

fill in for somebody to replace someone in a job for a short time : Susan will fill in for me while I’m away.

a thing

replace if one thing replaces another, it is used instead of the other thing, usually permanently : The car was old and needed replacing. | Computers have replaced typewriters.

take something’s place/take the place of something to be used instead of another thing : If any of the eight units fails, its place will be taken by the back-up unit. | MP3 players are taking the place of CDs. | Ugly concrete apartment buildings have taken the place of the old houses.

supersede to take the place of something – used especially about inventions, methods, organizations etc : The League of Nations was superseded by the United Nations in 1946. | Analysis by manual calculation has been superseded by more modern computer-based methods. | Goose used to be a traditional Christmas bird until turkey superseded it in popularity. | Iron began to supersede bronze for tool making about 3000 years ago.

substitute something for something to use something instead of the thing that you usually use, because the usual thing is not available – used especially about food : You can substitute margarine for butter in most recipes.