surrogate

1 of 2

noun

sur·​ro·​gate ˈsər-ə-gət 

ˈsə-rə-,

-ˌgāt 

often attributive

1

a

: one appointed to act in place of another : deputy

b

: a local judicial officer in some states (such as New York) who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the settlement of estates, and the appointment and supervision of guardians

2

: surrogate mother

3

: one that serves as a substitute

surrogate

2 of 2

verb

sur·​ro·​gate ˈsər-ə-ˌgāt 

ˈsə-rə-

surrogated; surrogating

transitive verb

: to put in the place of another:

a

: to appoint as successor, deputy, or substitute for oneself

b

: substitute

Examples of surrogate in a Sentence

Noun

He could not attend the meeting, so he sent his surrogate.

The governor and her surrogates asked the public to support the change.

They had their baby through a surrogate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Crawley and husband Ryan Dawkins welcomed their first baby together, daughter Rowen Lily, in January 2024 via surrogate. —Kayla Grant, People.com, 23 June 2025

Our interview, however, was just two days earlier, and his surrogate was already three centimeters dilated! —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 12 June 2025

Ralph Fiennes’s concierge is the director’s natural surrogate, the behind-the-scenes guy who tends to every detail of the hotel’s operation while going to extraordinary lengths to please the guests, even if that means bedding octogenarians. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025

This does not prevent women from offering to act as a surrogate in social media groups, and to receive money for doing so. —Allan De Abreu, The Dial, 3 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Latin surrogatus, past participle of surrogare to choose in place of another, substitute, from sub- + rogare to ask — more at right

First Known Use

Noun

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1533, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing surrogate

• surrogate mother

Kids Definition

surrogate

noun

sur·​ro·​gate

ˈsər-ə-ˌgāt,

ˈsə-rə-,

-gət

1

: one appointed to act in place of another : deputy

2

: a court officer in some states who handles the settling of wills

Medical Definition

surrogate

noun

sur·​ro·​gate -gət, -ˌgāt 

: one that serves as a substitute: as

a

: a representation of a person substituted through symbolizing (as in a dream) for conscious recognition of the person

b

: a drug substituted for another drug

c

: surrogate mother

Legal Definition

surrogate

noun

sur·​ro·​gate ˈsər-ə-gət 

1

: one acting in the place of another

especially : one standing in loco parentis to a child

2

often capitalized : the judge or judicial officer of a Surrogate's Court or Surrogate's office

surrogate adjective

Etymology

Noun

Latin surrogatus, past participle of surrogare, subrogare to substitute, from sub- in place of, under + rogare to ask