stand-in

1 of 2

noun

ˈstand-ˌin 

1

: someone employed to occupy an actor's place while lights and camera are readied

2

: substitute

stand in

2 of 2

verb

stood in; standing in; stands in

intransitive verb

: to act as a stand-in

see also stand in with

Synonyms of stand-in

Noun

• substitute
• replacement

Verb

• substitute
• fill in
• step in
• take over

Examples of stand-in in a Sentence

Noun

hired him at the last minute as a stand-in for the person who quit

Verb

she will be standing in for the regular teacher for a week

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With Barca in no position financially to bring in a centre-of-the-park reinforcement from the market, stand-ins to partner Frenkie de Jong - suspended against the Danes - will have to be deployed in-house. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Across the series, locations have included Cardiff Bay’s Oval Basin, Penarth Pier, and the grand Tredegar House in Newport, all of which appear on screen as various stand-ins for London, or for unnamed suburbs which house the private worlds of the ultra-wealthy. —Chloe Laws, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Jan. 2026

Verb

The present-day Red Sox are on the other side of that rebuild, and have no legs on which to stand in this entirely avoidable calamity of losing both Devers and Bregman. —Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026

That leaves Josh Allen as arguably the best quarterback standing in the AFC. —Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1904, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for stand-in

• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin
• fuchsin
• herein
• kingpin
• linchpin
• pigskin
• pinyin

Kids Definition

stand-in

1 of 2 noun

ˈstan-ˌdin

1

: someone employed to occupy an actor's place while lights and camera are readied

2

: substitute entry 1

stand in

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)stan-ˈdin

: to act as a stand-in