What does the phrase take the place of mean? I found it in the definition there.
make up for something - to take the place of something that has been lost or damaged
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
"Take the place of something" means "replace".
Examples:
Laptops are starting to take the place of paper and pens in school.
It would be difficult to find someone to take the place of the manager.
-
Not much point in answering a straightforward dictionary lookup question with a straightforward dictionary lookup. It'll be closed soon. Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 4:50
-
2@NathanTuggy - Usually I agree with you on such matters, but, in this case, I don't think "straightforward dictionary lookup" applies. If I was an English learner, I'd probably start by looking up "take" and "place" – and likely be quite vexed by the myriad of possibilities I found there. NOAD lists almost 50 verbal definitions of take, along with 15 phrases and 23 phrasal verbs (but not "take the place of"). Meanwhile, place gets more than 20 definitions as a noun.– J.R. ♦Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 10:15
-
@J.R. Well said. I'm currently learning two foreign languages and I understand how difficult idioms can be for learners. Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 10:21
-
1@J.R.: Hmm. Fair enough, I suppose. Searching for the term online returns some decent results quickly enough, but that's not practical for someone using a particular printed dictionary, I guess. Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 16:51
-
1@Nathan - In cases where an idiom is comprised of words that each have dozens of meanings, I tend to cut our learners some slack. "Can I find this answer easily?" is a fair question, but sometimes I think a better question is, "Could the learner be confused by this easily?"– J.R. ♦Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 17:47