like-for-like

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like-for-like (comparable)

1. Replacing one thing with another of the same type.

   The soccer coach made a like-for-like substitution, replacing the injured defender with another defensive player.

   • 2011, Denis Riley, Harry Roberts, Riley on Business Interruption Insurance, page 151:

     This is more likely to be the case if the replacement machinery is not a like-for-like replacement and involves an element of involuntary betterment with the result that, operatives require additional training […]

   • 2020 August 12, Andrew Mourant, “The tide is turning for a Victorian wonder”, in Rail, page 53:

     One example of this is that for operational and safety reasons, the swing bridge won't be functioning, but all its key mechanisms will be retained. "We'll replace components on a like-for-like basis so that it retains its magnificent appearance," Hodgson promises.

2. (of sales) comparable to the same period in a previous year, at outlets that existed at that period

• (comparable): apples to apples, comparable

• like-for-like sales

• interchangeable, fungible, pound-for-pound