Meaning & use
understudy
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
An actor who learns another actor's part in order to perform if that actor cannot.
Grammar: Often followed by 'for': the understudy for the lead role.
Patterns
- understudy for someone
- understudy to someone
- serve as an understudy
The understudy for the lead role had to go on stage at the last minute.
She worked as an understudy for two years before getting her own part.
Every principal dancer has an understudy.
verbtransitive
To learn another actor's part so you can replace them if necessary.
Grammar: Takes an object: understudy the main role.
Patterns
- understudy a role
- understudy someone
- understudy for someone
He understudied the role of Hamlet for six months.
She understudied the star and eventually took over the part.
Word forms
| plural | understudies |
|---|---|
| third person singular | understudies |
| past tense | understudied |
| past participle | understudied |
| -ing form | understudying |
Common combinations
- understudy for the lead
- The understudy for the lead was nervous but performed well.
- serve as understudy
- He served as understudy to the famous tenor.
- understudy the role
- She was asked to understudy the role of the queen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stand-in
- A person who replaces an actor for a short time, often for technical rehearsals, not necessarily learning the whole part.
- replacement
- A general word for someone who takes another's place; understudy is specific to acting.
Word family
- study verb
- To learn about a subject by reading and practicing.
Commonly confused: understudy or understand?
understudy vs understand
Understand means to know the meaning of something; understudy is about acting.
Practice
The lead actor fell ill, so his ______ went on stage instead.
Choose one answer.
Understudy fits because it is the actor who learns the part to replace another. Understanding is comprehension, undertaker is a funeral director, and undergraduate is a university student—none fit the theater context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “understudy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.