Instead means in place of what was expected. Go instead, instead of walking, do this instead.
On its own it comes at the end of a clause: I walked instead. As instead of it takes a noun or an -ing form — instead of walking, instead of the bus. It is one of the commonest connectors in English and one of the most useful for correcting an assumption. Note that instead is literally in stead, meaning in the place of, from the old word stead.
1adverbinsteadIn place of what was expected.
“There was no coffee, so I had tea instead.”
instead is a word of substitution.
In plus stead, from Old English stede, a place. It was written as two words for centuries and joined only later, and in his stead keeps the older form.
Middle English
ine — in
English, today
instead
Built from
From in + stead, from Middle English ine (“in”) + stede (“stead”). Related to German statt.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA