Fromunder- +study.
understudy (third-person singular simple presentunderstudies,present participleunderstudying,simple past and past participleunderstudied)
- Tostudy orknow arole to such anextent as to be able toreplace thenormalperformer whenrequired.
- To act as anunderstudy (to someone).
- To act in a similar manner to some known person.
1935,Owen Conquest,Morny's Master Stroke:That lean gentleman had apparentlyunderstudied Pharaoh of old and hardened his heart.
to study or know a role to such an extent as to be able to replace the normal performer when required
understudy (pluralunderstudies)
- Aperformer whounderstudies; astandby for astudy (9).
- Synonym:standby
- Coordinate terms:body double,stunt double
1976,Richard Dawkins,The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published2016, pages153–154:For Wynne-Edwards, the role of the outcasts in the welfare of the group is to wait in the wings asunderstudies, ready to step into the shoes of any territory holder who dies on the main stage of group reproduction.
performer who understudies
