instead
(adverb)
LISTEN
Have some fruit instead of a cookie.
We use instead when we want to say that something is replacing another thing. We often put instead at the end of a sentence. For example, “I didn’t have any pasta so I used rice instead.”
- Beth can’t come out tonight. Let’s invite Charlotte instead.
When instead is in the middle of a sentence, we usually use it with of.
- I used rice instead of pasta.
We can also use instead of when we are saying that we prefer one of two possible things.
- I prefer coffee instead of tea.
- I’d prefer to walk into town instead of taking the bus.
In pop culture
The Hunger Games is a movie about a society in the future. In this society, 24 teenagers have to fight each other every year. One or two of them will live, and the others will die. In this video from the movie, they choose a little girl called Primrose. Her sister, Katniss, doesn’t want her to fight. Katniss says that she will fight instead. Is Primrose happy about it?
There are other meanings of instead.
Word of the Day is released Monday through Friday.
