stand-in

1 of 2

noun

1
: someone employed to occupy an actor's place while lights and camera are readied
2

stand in

2 of 2

verb

stood in; standing in; stands in

intransitive verb

: to act as a stand-in
Phrases
stand in with
: to be in a specially favored position with

Examples of stand-in in a Sentence

Verb she will be standing in for the regular teacher for a week
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Her first job was for Spanish Elle, working as a fitting model, an off-camera stand-in for a woman with a similar silhouette. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2024 We are thrown in the middle of what is clearly a recurring argument between the Keys stand-in, 17-year-old Ali (the sensational Maleah Joi Moon), and her mother, Jersey (Shoshana Bean, in top form). Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024 Even Grover, who first appears to be the play’s comic relief — and audience stand-in during the band’s long sieges of madness — turns out to be one of the most original characters, and expertly played by Gelb as a man who is barely holding onto his job, if not his sanity. Frank Rizzo, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024 Rana, the chief of police, could be seen as a stand-in for bureaucrats and administrators who critics accuse of emboldening extremists and stoking sectarian violence. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024 Colleges are a convenient and tangible stand-in for what his allies have smeared as wokeism. Philip Elliott, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024 Tupperware became such a dominant domestic force that its brand name, like Band-Aid and Kleenex, is often still used as a stand-in for plastic food-storage containers of any type or brand. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024 In 2023, more than 23% of Russell 3000 companies (an index that is often used as a stand-in for the entire US market) disclosed shareholder activism as a risk in their annual reporting, up from about 21% a year prior. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024 Lynch also returned for the resurgence of the iconic Starz series Party Down, and received another Emmy nomination for playing Steve Martin’s character’s stand-in in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. EW.com, 7 Apr. 2024
Verb
When Wallace stood in a schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama, trying to block two Black students from registering, President Kennedy called in the Alabama National Guard at a time when his brother, Robert, was the nation’s attorney general. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024 However, an obstacle that is the bane of freedom-loving Americans is standing in McElhenney’s and Reynolds’s way. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 3 May 2024 Richard stands in that fog for a few too many seconds but quickly snaps out of it and saves Dorian’s life by inserting a clip in the dude’s gut. Lincee Ray, EW.com, 3 May 2024 Wearing a Daily Tar Heel hoodie, Ms. Reilly watched national news reporters stand in front of cameras for live shots before heading home one recent evening. David Bauder and Christine Fernando, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2024 The law enforcement presence and continued warnings stood in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when counterdemonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. TIME, 2 May 2024 Several Nashville police officers were standing in front of the bar when the chair landed just feet from them, according to the affidavit. Kirsten Fiscus, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024 During an extraordinary run from 1969 to ’71, Fogerty recorded a revelatory body of songs that stood in stark contrast to the Bay Area’s prevailing ethos exemplified by the Grateful Dead’s extended jams. Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024 April 20, 2024 Rahul Gandhi stood in a red Jeep, amid a churning crowd in Varanasi, trying to unseat the Indian government with a microphone in his hand. Samanth Subramanian Vikas Adam Tanya Pérez Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stand-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1904, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stand-in was in 1904

Dictionary Entries Near stand-in

Cite this Entry

“Stand-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand-in. Accessed 6 May. 2024.

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

stand in

2 of 2 verb
(ˈ)stan-ˈdin
: to act as a stand-in
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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