understudy
/ˈʌndəstʌdi
/noun (plural understudies)
(In the theatre) a person who learns another’s role in order to be able to act at short notice in their absence: he has played as understudy to Celtic’s usual goalkeeper he is understood to be understudy for the governor...
- We should've just gotten an understudy for her role!
- They don't have an understudy to take that role right now.
- I was his understudy for a few years and I tried to learn as much as I could from him.
Synonyms
stand-in, substitute, replacement, reserve, fill-in, locum, proxy, backup, relief, standby, supply, surrogate, stopgap, second, alternative, ancillary;
Latin locum tenens
informal sub
North American informal pinch-hitter
verb (understudies, understudying, understudied) [with object]
Study (a role or actor) as an understudy: he had to understudy Prospero...
- Amy played Christine in the Millennium tour of Phantom, when she was understudying the role.
- Brian said: ‘It puts her in a good place for understudying the lead roles and if things work out well she could find herself going on for a principal before too long.’
- He will understudy his successor who has an important role behind the scenes on the tour.