surrogate

[ noun adjective sur-uh-geyt, -git, suhr-; verb sur-uh-geyt, suhr- ]

noun

1. a person appointed to act for another; deputy.
2. (in some states) a judicial officer having jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the administration of estates, etc.
3. the deputy of an ecclesiastical judge, especially of a bishop or a bishop's chancellor.
4. a substitute.
5. a surrogate mother.
6. 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.

adjective

1. regarded or acting as a surrogate:

   a surrogate father.

2. involving or indicating the use of a surrogate mother to conceive or carry an embryo:

   surrogate parenting.

verb (used with object)

, sur·ro·gat·ed, sur·ro·gat·ing.

1. to put into the place of another as a successor, substitute, or deputy; substitute for another.
2. to subrogate.

surrogate

noun

1. a person or thing acting as a substitute
2. a deputy, such as a clergyman appointed to deputize for a bishop in granting marriage licences
3. 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
4. (in some US states) a judge with jurisdiction over the probate of wills, etc
5. modifier of, relating to, or acting as a surrogate

   a surrogate pleasure

verb

1. to put in another's position as a deputy, substitute, etc
2. to appoint as a successor to oneself

Derived Forms

• ˌsurroˈgation, noun
• ˈsurrogateship, noun

Other Words From

• surro·gate·ship noun
• surro·gation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of surrogate¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin surrogātus, variant of subrogātus “nominated as a substitiute”; subrogate

Word History and Origins

Origin of surrogate¹

C17: from Latin surrogāre to substitute; see subrogate

Example Sentences

The singer said People Watching is about Annie Orwin, who he described as "a surrogate mother in a lot of ways".

From BBC

Other billionaires, like Mark Cuban, also became Harris surrogates while promising that she would abandon populist policies, like increasing taxes on billionaires.

From Salon

Advisers have cautioned surrogates and allies to keep the charged term out of their remarks, Rolling Stone claims, to avoid “the concentration camps framing” that dogged Trump's campaign.

From Salon

The incoming president, who takes office Jan. 20, 2025, said the two businessmen — among his most vocal surrogates during the presidential campaign — will operate outside of the federal bureaucracy.

From Los Angeles Times

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, was once a challenger to and critic of Trump, but has become a staunch defender and campaign surrogate.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• proxy
• stand-in