I will drink tea instead of coffee today.
instead of
idiomin place of someone or something else. You use this when you choose one thing and not another.
Origin
disputed originFrom Middle English in stede of, in stude of (“instead of”, literally “in stead of, in place of”), equivalent to in + stead + of (cf. in one's stead). Cognate with Saterland Frisian insteede, ansteede (“instead of”), West Frisian ynstee (“instead of”), Dutch instede (“instead of”), German anstatt (von) (“instead of”), Danish i stedet (“instead of”).
She decided to walk to work instead of taking the bus because the weather was so beautiful.
The committee chose to invest in renewable energy sources instead of continuing their reliance on outdated and environmentally harmful fossil fuels.
Last updated April 22, 2026