surrogate
a person appointed to act for another; deputy.
(in some states) a judicial officer having jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the administration of estates, etc.
the deputy of an ecclesiastical judge, especially of a bishop or a bishop's chancellor.
a substitute.
Politics. someone who acts on behalf of a politician or political candidate by making public appearances, issuing statements, etc., when that person is engaged elsewhere or when that person’s image would be bolstered by certain affiliations: His camp won the “prestige of science” battle by signing on high-profile physicists, chemists, and biologists as campaign surrogates.
regarded or acting as a surrogate: a surrogate father.
involving or indicating the use of a surrogate mother to conceive or carry an embryo: surrogate parenting.
to put into the place of another as a successor, substitute, or deputy; substitute for another.
to subrogate.
Origin of surrogate
1Other words from surrogate
- sur·ro·gate·ship, noun
- sur·ro·ga·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use surrogate in a sentence
The websites, subterfuge, and paid surrogates cost them money.
Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, told The Daily Beast that surrogates are not a key factor in his race.
Iowa Has a Phantom Democratic Presidential Candidates Problem | Ben Jacobs | July 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn cable shoutfests, surrogates from both sides parade into studios, seemingly arguing just to hear themselves talk.
Newtown Massacre Exposes a Media Gun Shy on Gun Control | Lauren Ashburn | December 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTLike the other Obama surrogates hitting the airwaves today, Gibbs was doing his best to conceal nervousness and exude confidence.
They spurred CEOs of giant companies to weigh in on the campaign, essentially as surrogates for Obama.
The magic girdle assumed a great variety of forms as the number of surrogates of the cowry increased.
The Evolution of the Dragon | G. Elliot SmithIn the version we are now considering the pearl's place is taken by the pig, both of them surrogates of the cowry.
The Evolution of the Dragon | G. Elliot SmithAt a relatively late period other snakes were adopted as surrogates of the cobra and Cerastes.
The Evolution of the Dragon | G. Elliot SmithDespite the vigilance of the surrogates, they kept slipping across the river and disappearing into that swirling nothingness.
The Weakling | Everett B. ColeTheir surrogates were already attuned and ready, and one of them had been equipped with an auxiliary power crystal.
The Weakling | Everett B. Cole
British Dictionary definitions for surrogate
a person or thing acting as a substitute
mainly British a deputy, such as a clergyman appointed to deputize for a bishop in granting marriage licences
psychiatry a person who is a substitute for someone else, esp in childhood when different persons, such as a brother or teacher, can act as substitutes for the parents
(in some US states) a judge with jurisdiction over the probate of wills, etc
(modifier) of, relating to, or acting as a surrogate: a surrogate pleasure
to put in another's position as a deputy, substitute, etc
to appoint as a successor to oneself
Origin of surrogate
1Derived forms of surrogate
- surrogateship, noun
- surrogation, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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