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Glite Dictionary
bench-warmer

bench-warmer

5.8
A player who rarely plays and stays on the bench during games
  • noun
  • /ˈbɛnʧˌwɔrmər/
  • Informal
translation icon : suplente
  • She was tired of being a bench-warmer and worked hard to impress the coach.

Examples

  • After months as a bench-warmer, he was finally given a chance to start in the match.

  • He is just a bench-warmer on the team.

  • Even though he was a bench-warmer, he kept encouraging his teammates from the sidelines.

  • Many fans criticized the bench-warmer for not playing.

  • The coach decided to give the bench-warmer a chance to play in the final minutes of the game.

  • After spending the whole season as a bench-warmer, he was excited to finally get called up to the starting lineup.

  • Despite being a bench-warmer, she always supported her teammates from the sidelines with enthusiasm.

Synonyms

second-stringer
vsbench-warmer
  • US
1 7.5

A player who usually sits on the bench and replaces others during games

is used for someone who rarely or never plays rather than a frequent substitute
bench warmer
vsbench-warmer
  • Informal
1 6.7

A player on a sports team who rarely plays

is the hyphenated written form of the same informal sports term
bencher
vsbench-warmer
  • Jargon
1 7.9

A person who sits on the sidelines and does not play

is specifically about a substitute who rarely plays rather than general nonparticipation

Antonyms

starter
140 3.0

A player who begins the game on the field or court

How Often

starter
140 3.0
regular
194 3.1
substitute
211 3.2
bench-warmer
  • Informal
5.8

Surface Forms

bench-warmer singular
bench-warmers plural

Morphology

bench-warmer = bench + warmer (transparent) = bench + warmer

The compound literally combines 'bench' and the agentive 'warmer' to denote a player who sits on (i.e., 'warms') the bench, a meaning readily inferable from the parts.

Etymology

The word bench-warmer comes from the everyday words bench ('long seat') and warmer ('something that makes warm'), and it shows a player who stays sitting at the side and 'warms the bench' instead of playing. So, a bench-warmer is a team player who rarely takes part in games and spends most matches on the bench.