in one's stead
Taking someone's place
In one's stead means in place of someone, serving as a substitute: She couldn't attend the meeting, so her deputy went in her stead.
The phrase is formal and somewhat literary; "instead of" serves the same function in everyday speech.
Stead alone is archaic but survives in this fixed expression and in "instead."
- in place ofSubstituting for another
- proxyAuthorized substitute
- on behalf ofAs representative of
- substituteReplacement for another
- stand in forTemporarily replace someone
replacement · behalf · delegate · stand-in · fill in for · surrogate · deputy · second in command · representative · right hand man · fill-in · understudy · pinch-hitter · placeholder · agent · alternate · backup · envoy
personal presence/participation
in one's steadin person
Bodily present somewhere
personally · oneself · firsthand · directly · in the flesh
stead, steady, steadily, steadfast, steadiness, unsteady, homestead, bedstead, instead