subrogate

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/ˈsʌbɹəɡeɪt/

verb

To replace one person or thing with another.

Scrabble 12

Meanings

verbsubrogate (third-person singular simple present subrogates, present participle subrogating, simple past and past participle subrogated)

present singular third person subrogates · participle present subrogating · participle past subrogated · past subrogated

  1. transitivelawTo replace one person or thing with another.

    A co-debtor that pays off a principal creditor has a choice. It can subrogate to the principal creditor's claim or it can file its own claim in the bankruptcy. It cannot do both; its own claim will be disallowed if it seeks subrogation.

    2019, Ginsberg, Martin, Kelley, Ginsberg and Martin on Bankruptcy, Aspen Publishers Online, →ISBN, page 86
    1 more example

    In the course of that work air‑conditioning units were installed. Those units are equipped with compressors which were manufactured by Refcomp, whose registered office is in Italy, purchased from that company and fitted by Climaventa whose registered office is also in Italy, then sold to Doumer by the company Liebert to whose rights Emerson is now subrogated. […] Subrogated to the rights of Doumer, to which it paid compensation, Axa Corporate sued the manufacturer Recomp, the fitter Climaveneta and the seller Emerson before the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris (Regional Court, Paris) seeking an order that they pay in solidum compensation for the damage suffered.

    2013 February 7, European Court of Justice, Refcomp SpA vs. Axa Corporate Solutions Assurance SA / Axa France IARD / Emerson Network / Climaveneta SpA,, Case C‑543/10, marginals 8 and 10

    Synonyms: substitute, surrogate

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo replace one person or thing with another.

Also see

Origin

  1. Latinsubrogātus
  2. Englishsubrogate

Borrowed from Latin subrogātus, perfect passive participle of subrogō, from sub (“under”) + rogō (“to ask, request”). A variant of surrogate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish hankkia sijaan, tulla sijaan
  • hankkia sijaanto replace one person with another
  • tulla sijaanto replace one person with another
  • siirtääto replace one person with another
  • korvatato replace one person with another
German das Recht geht über
  • das Recht geht überto replace one person with another
Portuguese sub-rogar
  • sub-rogarto replace one person with another
Spanish subrogar
  • subrogarto replace one person with another
Swedish surrogera
  • surrogerato replace one person with another
Cite this entry
APA

subrogate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subrogate

MLA

“subrogate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subrogate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subrogate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subrogate.

Source: subrogate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.