as in submarine
a large sandwich on a long split roll
we shared a tuna sub at lunch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in substitute
a person or thing that takes the place of another
we had a sub in English today, so we didn't get our test results back
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to substitute
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only
the weekend anchor is subbing for the station's main anchor all this week she subbed for middle school teachers in the district as needed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sub
Daniel D'addario, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Following in the footsteps of many an onscreen May-December romance (The Idea of You, Babygirl, Marty Supreme), Mysterious Skin’s Gregg Araki serves up a darkly sexy riff on the sub-genre.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
The only Celtic not subbed out was Gonzalez, who started the second half over Josh Minott (Boston’s initial replacement for the ailing Jordan Walsh, who missed the game with an illness).
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sub
Noun
Every role creates a sub-sentence.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Following in the footsteps of many an onscreen May-December romance (The Idea of You, Babygirl, Marty Supreme), Mysterious Skin’s Gregg Araki serves up a darkly sexy riff on the sub-genre.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
Tyler Huntley subbed in for Jackson and was 16-of-20 for 107 passing yards.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
The only Celtic not subbed out was Gonzalez, who started the second half over Josh Minott (Boston’s initial replacement for the ailing Jordan Walsh, who missed the game with an illness).
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sub
substitute
Verb
-
Inflation is so severe that, in the past two decades, the nation’s currency has been declared void and substituted with a new tender three times.—
Armando Ledezma,
New Yorker,
14 Jan. 2026
-
That includes the initiative’s drafters, who included language asking courts to substitute later dates if legally necessary to preserve the tax.—
Jared Walczak,
Oc Register,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sub. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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