1
: someone employed to occupy an actor's place while lights and camera are readied
2
stood in; standing in; stands in
: to act as a stand-in
see also:
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
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Similarly, Early’s dissolute failson feels less like a self-portrait than like a darkly comic deflection, a gargoyle-ish stand-in for his creator’s anxieties.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Dubai has welcomed residents from practically everywhere on Earth, and its openness stands in defiant contrast with Iran.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stand-in
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
One man, first invited to serve as a stand-in for the narrator’s father, was asked instead to play the boy.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Similarly, Early’s dissolute failson feels less like a self-portrait than like a darkly comic deflection, a gargoyle-ish stand-in for his creator’s anxieties.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
Verb
With the United Center crowd standing in anticipation, Michigan tried to find Lendeborg inside on its last possession.
—CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Dubai has welcomed residents from practically everywhere on Earth, and its openness stands in defiant contrast with Iran.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stand-in
Cite this Entry
“Stand-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand-in. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
