Standard Lemma guide

stand-in

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A person of similar size and shape to an actor who substitutes for or replaces that actor during the lengthy process of setting up a shot, but who, unlike a double, does not appear in the film.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: broadcasting, film, media, television

Examples

  • They used a stand-in to set up the lighting so that the actor did not have to be there during the lengthy process.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A substitute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes
  • we need extra employees for summer fill-ins

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: substitute, relief, reliever, backup, backup man, fill-in

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: peer, equal, match, compeer

Narrower terms: locum tenens, locum, double, stunt man, stunt woman, surrogate, alternate, replacement

History

Etymology

Deverbal from stand in.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: дубльор (dubljor) — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Chinese Mandarin: 代替者 (dàitìzhě) — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • French: doublure — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • German: Double — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • German: Ersatz — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • German: Lichtdouble — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • German: Springer — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • German: Springerin — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Hungarian: kaszkadőr — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Hungarian: dublőr — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Interlingua: duple — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Italian: cascatore — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Italian: sosia — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Japanese: 代理 (dairi) — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Japanese: 影武者 (kagemusha) — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Portuguese: dobro — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Romanian: dublură — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Russian: дублёр (dubljór) — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Scottish Gaelic: neach-ionaid — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Spanish: suplente — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Swedish: stand-in — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Turkish: benzer — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Turkish: dublör — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Turkish: vekil — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup
  • Turkish: yedek — person who stands in for an actor during shooting setup