サブ
Meanings
1
Used for a person or thing that serves as a replacement or backup, often in sports, work, or equipment contexts.
He sat on the bench as a substitute for the match.
You'd better bring a backup battery.
2
Prefix used in compounds to indicate something secondary, auxiliary, or subordinate, such as サブリーダー (sub-leader) or サブタイトル (subtitle).
In this project, I supported the team as a sub-leader.
Usage patterns
- サブを務めるto serve as a substitute/backup
He's serving as a backup for the team this season.
- 〈人〉がサブに回るfor someone to be relegated to backup/reserve status
Because of an injury, he was moved to the backup lineup.
- サブとして起用するto use/deploy someone as a substitute
The coach used the young player as a substitute.