instead of

preposition

in·​stead of in-ˈste-də(v) 

-ˈsti-

: in place of : as a substitute for or alternative to

chose tea instead of coffee

Examples of instead of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess. —Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025

On one second-quarter play, Colby Parkinson motioned from inline to outside of Puka Nacua, drawing cornerback Derek Stingley out to cover him instead of the Pro Bowl receiver. —Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025

Viral videos and thousands of comments soon followed, mostly echoing her frustration that the chain was rebranding instead of putting the focus on food quality. —Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 13 Sep. 2025

Procedures can now take only minutes instead of hours. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English in sted of

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for instead of

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove
• hereinabove

Kids Definition

instead of

preposition

in-ˌsted-ə(v),

-ˌstid-

: in place of : as a substitute for

had milk instead of juice