sur·ro·gate
ˈsər-ə-gət 
ˈsə-rə-,
-ˌgāt
often attributive
1
a
: one appointed to act in place of another : deputy
b
: a local judicial officer in some states (such as New York) who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the settlement of estates, and the appointment and supervision of guardians
2
3
: one that serves as a substitute
sur·ro·gate
ˈsər-ə-ˌgāt
ˈsə-rə-
surrogated; surrogating
: to put in the place of another:
a
: to appoint as successor, deputy, or substitute for oneself
b
Examples of surrogate in a Sentence
Noun
He could not attend the meeting, so he sent his surrogate.
The governor and her surrogates asked the public to support the change.
They had their baby through a surrogate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes forwarded to the email to Waltz (then a Florida congressman and Trump campaign surrogate) via text.
—Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 7 Apr. 2025
The pair welcomed Zachary, who was born via surrogate in December 2010.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Colossal’s cavalier plans to use captive elephants as surrogates for mammoth calves illustrate an old problem in modern wildlife conservation: indifference towards individual animal suffering.
—Nitin Sekar, ArsTechnica, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surrogate
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Noun
Many critics of de-extinction argue that the huge sums of money invested in the project could be better spent elsewhere — and that raising and breeding the hybrid creatures could imperil living animals used as surrogates.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes forwarded to the email to Waltz (then a Florida congressman and Trump campaign surrogate) via text.
—Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 7 Apr. 2025
The pair welcomed Zachary, who was born via surrogate in December 2010.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Colossal’s cavalier plans to use captive elephants as surrogates for mammoth calves illustrate an old problem in modern wildlife conservation: indifference towards individual animal suffering.
—Nitin Sekar, ArsTechnica, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surrogate
Cite this Entry
“Surrogate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surrogate. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
surrogate
noun
sur·ro·gate
-gət, -ˌgāt
: one that serves as a substitute: as
a
: a representation of a person substituted through symbolizing (as in a dream) for conscious recognition of the person
b
: a drug substituted for another drug
c
Legal Definition
surrogate
noun
sur·ro·gate
ˈsər-ə-gət
1
: one acting in the place of another
especially
: one standing in loco parentis to a child
2
often capitalized
: the judge or judicial officer of a Surrogate's Court or Surrogate's office
surrogate
adjective
Etymology
Noun
Latin surrogatus, past participle of surrogare, subrogare to substitute, from sub- in place of, under + rogare to ask
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