substituting
- 1Present participle of substitute.
The chef is substituting olive oil for butter in the sauce.
By substituting cheaper parts, the company cut its production costs sharply.
Note
The -ing form does double duty. It is a participle in "she is substituting for a sick colleague" and a gerund in "substituting honey changes the flavor." Watch the preposition, because the verb runs in both directions. Substituting olive oil for butter puts the oil in. Substituting butter with olive oil also puts the oil in. With for, the noun after the preposition is what leaves; with with, it is what arrives.
She has been substituting for the regular teacher all week.
The recipe works just as well substituting the butter with olive oil.
substituting is a form of substitute
substitute, verb: To use one thing in place of another that serves the same function. Full entry
- Forms
- substitutesubstitutes he/she/itsubstituting -ing formsubstituted past tense, past participle
- Spelling
- substitute → substituting: drop the e, add -ing
Use it in a sentence
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