stands in

verb

present tense third-person singular of stand in
as in substitutes
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only she will be standing in for the regular teacher for a week

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of stands in Ukraine stands in solidarity with Poland and the Polish people. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026 That rare show of unity among rivals stands in sharp contrast with Thiel’s view that the push to slow AI down is not caution but something closer to evil. — Sasha Tuddenham, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026 That stands in direct contrast to attackers such as Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who prefer to move the ball forward quickly. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 The Rockies improved, but pitching stands in the way of real progress. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026 Karl Mayer Stoll appeared on an earlier ITMA list of companies taking large stands in Hanover. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026 Medical group opposition Even before the first lethal injection was carried out, the American Medical Association said physicians shouldn’t participate, and that ban stands in the group’s Code of Medical Ethics. — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 Raman’s questionnaire stands in contrast with those of some of her DSA colleagues. — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026 In one sequence, Sam stands in the middle of a rope bridge, catching a gold bar thrown at him from one side of a gorge, and then throwing it to the other side quickly enough that the weight of the gold doesn’t snap the precarious wooden planks. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stands in
  1. substitutes
  2. fills in
  3. takes over
  4. steps in
Verb
  • Then, with one click of a Copy button, the website quietly substitutes a command that could put your Mac at risk.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • This approach substitutes information for sensation, and reduces both human and supra-human experiences to the level of data.
    — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of substitutes
Verb
  • Sherman, Maine — Behind the steering wheel of his silver pickup, Scott Bates fills in the blanks with numbers.
    — Rachel Siegel, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Seyfried, now literally playing a character in playing Holmes, also fills in for moments that Oppenheim didn’t or couldn’t record.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of fills in
Verb
  • Some Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are encouraging leaders to scrap the chamber’s Select Committee on China once their party takes over next year.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Mike Boynton, a former assistant on May’s staff, takes over a Michigan team that returns Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney from its national championship team.
    — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of takes over
Verb
  • Expanding worker retraining programs, investing in the ailing public school system, and improving access to community colleges will do far more than tariffs to rebuild the middle class—and are the first steps in forging a new social contract.
    — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Traditional CPUs excel at sequential computing tasks, such as calculating a massive spreadsheet or running a precise physics simulation, as these often require executing steps in strict order at blazing speeds.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of steps in

Browse Nearby Words

stands for
stands in
stands off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stands in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stands%20in. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All