in lieu of

UK/ɪn ljuː əv/UK/ɪn ljuː ɒv/US/ɪn luː əv/US/ɪn luː ɑːv/

preposition

Instead of; in place of.

“In lieu of recent events, more caution is needed.”

OriginMiddle English in liue of ← Old French au leu de →
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Meanings

preposition
  1. Instead of; in place of.

    They gave him a cash award, in lieu of the promised prize package.

    2 more examples

    “Unfortunately for Interceptor—and any others who have relied upon 3DR’s personal assurances in lieu of federal registrations and the like—the 3DR Declaration makes it clear: 3DR no longer owns the unrestricted rights to Duke Nukem IP,and 3DR has no right or ability to make any agreements in violation of Gearbox’s exclusive rights.

    2014 February 23, Julian Benson, quoting Gearbox spokesperson, “The strange case of Gearbox’s suit against 3D Realms and Interceptor”, in PCGamesN, archived from the original on 15 Feb 2017

    The first train carrying passengers to Alstom Transport Technology Centre in Widnes arrived on September 6. The Industria Ditat railtour from Watford Junction was operated by GB Railfreight 60087 and 57303. In lieu of an access fee, organiser UK Railtours made a donation to the centre's chosen charities, Halton Haven Hospice and Widnes Foodbank.

    2025 October 1, “RAIL in focus: Railtour takes first passengers to Alstom's Widnes site”, in RAIL, number 1045, page 18, image caption
  2. proscribedIn light of.

    In lieu of recent events, more caution is needed.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
in one's steadin place of

Origin

  1. Old Frenchau leu de
  2. Middle Englishin liue of
  3. Englishin lieu of

From Middle English in liue of, a partial calque of Old French au leu de (modern French au lieu de).

More words from Middle English, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بَدَلًا مِن
  • بَدَلًا مِن (badalan min)instead; in place of; as a substitute for
Bulgarian вме́сто
  • вме́сто (vmésto)instead; in place of; as a substitute for
Catalan en comptes de
  • en comptes deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Chinese Mandarin 代替
  • 代替 (dàitì)instead; in place of; as a substitute for
Czech namísto, místo
  • namístoinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • místoinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Danish i stedet for
  • i stedet forinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Dutch in plaats van
  • in plaats vaninstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Finnish jonkin sijasta, jonkin sijaan
  • jonkin sijastainstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • jonkin sijaaninstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • jonkin asemestainstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • jonkin tilallainstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • jonkin tilalleinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
French au lieu de
  • au lieu deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
German anstelle von, anstelle
  • anstelle voninstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • anstelleinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Korean 대신
  • 대신 (daesin)instead; in place of; as a substitute for
Polish zamiast, w miejsce
  • zamiastinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • w miejsceinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • na miejsceinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Portuguese no lugar de, ao invés de
  • no lugar deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • ao invés deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • invés deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • em vez deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Romanian în loc de
  • în loc deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Russian вме́сто
  • вме́сто (vmésto)instead; in place of; as a substitute for
Slovak namiesto
  • namiestoinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Spanish en vez de, en lugar de
  • en vez deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
  • en lugar deinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Swedish i stället för
  • i stället förinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Tagalog sa halip na
  • sa halip nainstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Turkish yerine
  • yerineinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Vietnamese thay vì
  • thay vìinstead; in place of; as a substitute for
Cite this entry
APA

in lieu of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20lieu%20of

MLA

“in lieu of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20lieu%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in lieu of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20lieu%20of.

Source: in lieu of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.