as in substituting
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
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Recent Examples of subbing
While subbing for an assistant who worked for an executive at Universal, Burch became interested in the film industry.
—
Leia Mendoza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
By subbing in Washington-Los Angeles, the league is providing Fox with a far stronger option now that Burrow is in recovery mode.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Will is basically subbing Katie in for Sylvia, consulting her for help in combing through Terry’s Instagram to look for clues that something is going on with Jenna.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
While subbing a lefty swinger for a righty against a right-handed pitcher may seem obvious, pulling a regular starting player for a hitter who has spent most of the season in the minor leagues was unexpected, to say the least.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Junior quarterback Brady Walden was near perfect in the latter, completing 9 of 11 passes for 155 yards and two TDs before subbing out of a 42-0 rout.
—Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2025
In the victory over Eastern Washington, Danielson wasted no time subbing Moore in for Boomer after Boomer missed two kicks in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 17 Sep. 2025
Plastic piping is subbing in for soldered copper.
—Frank Sorrentino, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
In the teams’ most recent meeting, Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright, subbing for an injured Butker, doinked a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through for a 19-17 KC victory.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Leia Mendoza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
By subbing in Washington-Los Angeles, the league is providing Fox with a far stronger option now that Burrow is in recovery mode.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Will is basically subbing Katie in for Sylvia, consulting her for help in combing through Terry’s Instagram to look for clues that something is going on with Jenna.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
While subbing a lefty swinger for a righty against a right-handed pitcher may seem obvious, pulling a regular starting player for a hitter who has spent most of the season in the minor leagues was unexpected, to say the least.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Junior quarterback Brady Walden was near perfect in the latter, completing 9 of 11 passes for 155 yards and two TDs before subbing out of a 42-0 rout.
—Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2025
In the victory over Eastern Washington, Danielson wasted no time subbing Moore in for Boomer after Boomer missed two kicks in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 17 Sep. 2025
Plastic piping is subbing in for soldered copper.
—Frank Sorrentino, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
In the teams’ most recent meeting, Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright, subbing for an injured Butker, doinked a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through for a 19-17 KC victory.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subbing
substituting
Verb
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Maduro is widely believed to have lost the 2024 presidential election to rival Edmundo González, a candidate substituting Machado, yet still claimed victory.—
David Smilde,
The Conversation,
10 Oct. 2025
-
William wrote Temple out of his will, substituting his granddaughter.—
Stacy Schiff,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subbing. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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