sub

sub — verb

1. to take part in a sports game as the person who fills in for another player who

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to take part in a sports game as the person who fills in for another player who cannot keep playing

Example

Linh subbed for the injured goalkeeper in the second half.

sub for [someone's position]

Cyrus subbed in after the team's star player twisted his ankle.

sub in — intransitive phrasal verb

Common collocations
  • sub for [player]
  • sub in
  • sub for [position]
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

sub for [someone/someone's position]

sub in

Usage Note

Informal short form of 'substitute'. Only used in a sports context. The player who enters the game is the subject.

Common Mistakes

The coach subbed Linh in the second half.' (when meaning the coach made a substitution).
Linh subbed in the second half.
when 'sub' is intransitive, the entering player is the subject. For the coach's action, use sense 3 instead ('The coach subbed Linh in').

2. to do someone's job or duty for a short time while they are away or unable to do

2.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to do someone's job or duty for a short time while they are away or unable to do it

Example

Élise subbed for the biology teacher who had caught the flu.

sub for [someone] (work context)

Christopher subbed for his manager during the weekly sales meeting.

Common collocations
  • sub for [coworker]
  • sub for [manager/teacher]
  • sub at [event/shift]
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

sub for [someone]

sub for [someone] at [event]

Usage Note

Like sense 1, this is the intransitive use of 'sub' meaning the covering person is the subject. The workplace context is the key difference from sense 1.

Common Mistakes

Élise subbed the biology teacher.' (treating it as transitive).
Élise subbed for the biology teacher.
the preposition 'for' is required here.

3. to take one player off the field and send a different player on, an action norma

3.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to take one player off the field and send a different player on, an action normally taken by the coach

Example

The manager subbed Jude in after the first half of the game.

sub [player] in — transitive with adverb particle

Felipe was subbed out in the last ten minutes of the match.

passive: be subbed out

Common collocations
  • sub [player] in
  • sub [player] out
  • sub [player] off
  • be subbed
Synonyms
  • replace

    formal, not limited to sports

  • swap

    informal, implies exchanging one for another

Antonyms
  • keep on

    to let a player continue playing

Grammar Patterns

sub [player] [in/out/off]

be subbed [in/out/off]

Usage Note

This is the transitive version of sense 1 — the coach or manager is the subject, and the replaced player is the object. The passive form ('be subbed off/out') is very common when describing a player's experience.

Common Mistakes

Felipe subbed out in the last ten minutes.' (when meaning he was taken off).
Felipe was subbed out in the last ten minutes.
'sub out' needs a grammatical subject who makes the substitution, or use the passive voice.

4. to use one item, ingredient, or material instead of another in a recipe, project

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to use one item, ingredient, or material instead of another in a recipe, project, or task

Example

Adina subbed olive oil for butter in the cake to make it lighter.

sub [new item] for [original item] — the replacement item comes first

Mert subbed tofu for chicken in the soup to make it vegetarian.

Common collocations
  • sub [ingredient] for [ingredient]
  • sub [material] for [material]
Synonyms
  • substitute

    the full form, more formal

  • swap

    suggests exchanging, often in cooking

  • replace with

    the original item is the object of the verb

Grammar Patterns

sub [new item] for [original item]

Usage Note

The pattern 'sub A for B' means A is the new thing being used, and B is the original thing being replaced. This is a frequent point of confusion.

Common Mistakes

Adina subbed butter for olive oil.' (meaning the cake has olive oil instead of butter).
Adina subbed olive oil for butter.
the first item after 'sub' is the one being used, the item after 'for' is the one being replaced.

5. to remove something and put a different thing in its place, especially as an imp

5.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to remove something and put a different thing in its place, especially as an improvement or update

Example

The design team decided to sub out the old company logo.

sub out [noun] — phrasal verb pattern

Dr. Chen subbed out the damaged parts of the machine and fitted new ones.

Common collocations
  • sub out [old item]
  • sub [old item] out
Synonyms
  • replace

    neutral register, more standard

  • swap out

    equally informal, same structure

  • change

    general word, less specific

Antonyms
  • keep

    to continue using the original item

Grammar Patterns

sub out [item]

sub [item] out

Usage Note

Unlike sense 4 (which introduces the replacement item with 'for'), this sense uses the phrasal verb 'sub out' and the original item being removed is the direct object. The replacement may be stated later with 'for' or left implied.

6. to read through a piece of writing and correct its errors or improve its style s

6.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to read through a piece of writing and correct its errors or improve its style so it is ready for publishing

Example

The publisher hired a freelancer to sub the chapters of the new novel.

sub [document] — sub-editing context

The copy editor stayed late to sub the articles for the morning paper.

Common collocations
  • sub [article]
  • sub [chapter]
  • sub [manuscript]
Synonyms
  • sub-edit

    the full form, more formal

  • copy-edit

    American English equivalent

  • proofread

    focuses on correcting errors rather than improving style

Grammar Patterns

sub [text/document/article]

Usage Note

Primarily used in British English publishing and journalism. The more common full form is 'sub-edit'. In American English, 'copy-edit' is preferred.

Common Mistakes

The writer subbed his own article.' (authors typically don't sub their own work).
A professional sub-editor subbed the article.
'sub' in this sense is usually done by someone other than the original writer.

7. to be employed as a sub-editor — checking and preparing written material at a ne

7.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to be employed as a sub-editor — checking and preparing written material at a newspaper, magazine, or publishing house before it goes to print.

Example

Élise subs for a local Bristol newspaper, checking around thirty news articles for grammar and accuracy each weekend.

sub + for + [publication]

After university, Diya moved to Glasgow to sub for a national Sunday newspaper, polishing political columns each Saturday night.

Common collocations
  • sub for + publication
  • sub at + company
Synonyms
  • edit

    broader meaning; 'edit' can refer to any text, whereas 'sub' is specific to journalism and publishing roles

  • proofread

    narrower and more specific; 'proofread' focuses on finding mistakes, while sub-editing involves rewriting and restructuring text

Grammar Patterns

sub + for + publication/company

Usage Note

Typically used in British journalism contexts. The preposition for introduces the publication; at introduces the employer. This sense describes the job role itself, not the action of editing a specific text.

Common Mistakes

Élise subs the article before it goes to print.
Élise works as a sub-editor for a local newspaper.
This sense describes the job role, not the act of editing a specific piece of writing.

8. to lend someone a small amount of money — usually as a temporary arrangement unt

8.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to lend someone a small amount of money — usually as a temporary arrangement until they receive their wages or can pay the money back.

Example

Faisal asked his colleague to sub him a tenner until payday.

sub + person + amount

Nia subbed Leo twenty pounds for the taxi fare home.

Common collocations
  • sub + person + amount
  • sub + person
  • sub + amount + to + person
Synonyms
  • lend

    more standard and widely understood; 'sub' is informal British English only

  • advance

    more formal; 'advance' often implies an employer giving wages early, whereas 'sub' can be between friends

  • spot

    British informal, similar register but less common; 'spot' often implies a smaller, more spontaneous loan

Antonyms
  • borrow

    opposite direction of money transfer; the person receiving the sub borrows; the person giving it subs

Grammar Patterns

sub + person + money

sub + person

Usage Note

British informal. Typically used with a direct object (the person) and optionally the amount. The money is usually a small sum for immediate, short-term needs.

Common Mistakes

Can you sub me some money until tomorrow?' (correct in British English).
Can you lend me some money until tomorrow?' (more widely understood)
In American English, 'sub' does not carry this meaning; use 'lend' or 'spot' instead.

sub — noun

sub — abbreviation

sub — prefix

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

"Sub" (short for "substitute") is the most informal of these, used mainly in sports (verb sense 1: "sub for a player") and casual workplace cover (verb sense 2: "sub for a colleague"). "Replace" is the neutral, all-purpose word: anything can replace anything regardless of duration or register. "Fill in for" is informal and strongly implies a temporary arrangement — a teacher fills in for one day, not permanently. "Stand in for" also suggests temporary duty but often carries a note of deputising (e.g., standing in for the manager at a ceremony). "Cover for" is the most common in office talk and adds a sense of protecting someone's duties while they are away. In everyday British speech, "I'll cover for you" and "I'll sub for you" are largely interchangeable, but "sub" is markedly more informal. In American English, "cover for" is the default; "sub for" is restricted to sports and teaching contexts.

sub forreplace ↗fill in forstand in forcover for

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • in (sub in)
  • out (sub out)

Phrases

  • sub in (join as replacement)
  • sub out (remove and replace)
  • sub for (temporarily take the place of)

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

English borrowed "sub-" from Latin in the Middle English period. In Latin, "sub" was a preposition meaning "under, below, beneath, close to", and it survives in English both as a living prefix and as a set of clipped nouns. As a prefix, it entered English through French (from Old French "sub-") in the 14th–15th centuries, attaching to Latin-root words. Starting in the 20th century, English speakers began clipping longer words like "substitute", "submarine", "subscription", and "sub-editor" into the standalone word "sub", each taking on a distinct meaning in its own context.