instead of

instead of

1. In lieu of; in place of; rather than.

   He walked to school instead of taking the car.

   • 1611, King James Version, Exodus 4:16:

     And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:

     Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

• Instead of is always followed by a noun (often a gerund).

• Distefano