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🧑‍🎤 A substitute person 💻 A test replacement
stand-in

stand-in

13 4.2
A person who takes another person's place, for example in a performance or at work
  • noun
  • /ˈstændˌɪn/
translation icon : suplente
  • The director hired a stand-in to practice the fight choreography before the main actor arrived.

And there the answer to that is something more like Starship Troopers, where, you know, the bugs are seen by a lot of critics as sort of a stand in for the communists.

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Examples

  • I was a cub reporter covering Dallas as a stand-in when Kennedy was killed.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • He was Hugh O'Brian's stand-in on Wyatt Earp.

    3 Women (1977)

  • If someone does not have a dad, then that person can have a stand-in attend the dance with them.

    Blog text (5)

  • I'm working as a stand-in for Fox Sports tomorrow.

    Blog text (10)

  • It's clear that the younglings are meant to be stand-ins for young Star Wars fans.

    Blog text (23)

  • The stand-in manager was doing well and was considering accepting a permanent full-time position.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • You might say that's the groom's stand-in.

    King Kong (1976)

  • The actor needed a stand-in during the dangerous stunt scenes to ensure his safety.

  • For the final rehearsal, she was chosen as the stand-in for the lead actress who was unavailable.

Synonyms

backup
vsstand-in
367 2.9

A person who takes another person's place when needed

leans more toward replacing in risky or understudy-like situations
replacement
vsstand-in
282 2.0

A person or thing that takes the place of another

is often used specifically for replacements in risky or performer-covering roles
substitute
vsstand-in
211 3.2

A person or thing that takes the place of another

is narrower, used more for dangerous, difficult, or understudy-style replacing
surrogate
vsstand-in
100 6.8

A person who acts for someone else in a particular role

is more about direct replacing in hazardous or understudy-like contexts
standby
vsstand-in
75 3.7

A person or thing kept ready to use as a backup

focuses more on active replacement in dangerous or difficult tasks
understudy
vsstand-in
28 5.1

A person who learns another actor's role to replace them at short notice

is broader, applying also to dangerous or nonstage temporary replacements
relief
vsstand-in
24 4.4

A person who temporarily does someone else's job for them

applies more to replacements in risky or performance situations
alternate
vsstand-in
22 3.8

A person chosen to replace another if needed

is more commonly used for urgent or risky covering rather than planned swaps
fill-in
vsstand-in
6 3.5

A person who temporarily does another person's job

is used more for replacements that face danger or require understudy readiness
reliever
vsstand-in
1 5.2

A person who takes over another person's work for a short time in difficult situations

is the broader term including short notice performer covering as well
backup man
vsstand-in
3.5

A man who helps or replaces someone during dangerous tasks

is more general and also fits actor replacement situations
suppositum
vsstand-in
  • Archaic
9.9

A person or thing placed to take another person's place

is the common modern term for replacing people in risky or stage roles

How Permanent

replacement
282 2.0
stand-in
13 4.2
understudy
28 5.1
fill-in
6 3.5

Surface Forms

stand-in singular
stand-ins plural

Morphology

stand-in = stand in (semi-transparent) = stand + in

The noun is a straightforward conversion of the phrasal verb 'stand in' meaning to substitute for someone.

Etymology

The word stand-in comes from the phrase stand in, which means 'to take someone's place'. So a stand-in is a person who fills or keeps the place of someone else, for example an actor who steps in when the lead is away.