Advertisement
Advertisement
alternate
[ verb awl-ter-neyt, al-; adjective noun awl-ter-nit, al- ]
verb (used without object)
- to interchange repeatedly and regularly with one another in time or place; rotate (usually followed by with ):
Day alternates with night.
- to change back and forth between conditions, states, actions, etc.:
He alternates between hope and despair.
- to take turns:
My sister and I alternated in doing the dishes.
- Electricity. to reverse direction or sign periodically.
- Linguistics. to occur as a variant in alternation with another form.
verb (used with object)
- to perform or do in succession or one after another:
to alternate comedy acts; to alternate jogging and walking.
- to interchange successively or regularly:
to alternate hot and cold compresses.
adjective
- being in a constant state of succession or rotation; interchanged repeatedly one for another:
Winter and summer are alternate seasons.
- reciprocal; mutual:
alternate acts of kindness.
- every second one of a series:
Read only the alternate lines.
- constituting an alternative:
The alternate route is more scenic.
- Botany.
- placed singly at different heights on the axis, on each side in succession, or at definite angular distances from one another, as leaves.
- opposite to the intervals between other organs:
petals alternate with sepals.
noun
- a person authorized to fill the position, exercise the duties, etc., of another who is temporarily absent; substitute.
- Theater.
- either of two actors who take turns playing the same role.
- an understudy.
alternate
verb
- often foll by with to occur or cause to occur successively or by turns
day and night alternate
- introften foll bybetween to swing repeatedly from one condition, action, etc, to another
he alternates between success and failure
- tr to interchange regularly or in succession
- intr (of an electric current, voltage, etc) to reverse direction or sign at regular intervals, usually sinusoidally, the instantaneous value varying continuously
- introften foll byfor theatre to understudy another actor or actress
adjective
- occurring by turns
alternate feelings of love and hate
- every other or second one of a series
he came to work on alternate days
- being a second or further choice; alternative
alternate director
- botany
- (of leaves, flowers, etc) arranged singly at different heights on either side of the stem
- (of parts of a flower) arranged opposite the spaces between other parts Compare opposite
noun
- a person who substitutes for another in his absence; stand-in
alternate
/ ôl′tər-nĭt /
- Arranged singly at intervals on a stem or twig. Elms, birches, oaks, cherry trees, and hickory trees have alternate leaves.
- Compare opposite
- Arranged regularly between other parts, as stamens between petals on a flower.
Other Words From
- alter·nate·ly adverb
- alter·nate·ness noun
- alter·nating·ly adverb
- non·alter·nating adjective
- quasi-alter·nating adjective
- quasi-alter·nating·ly adverb
- un·alter·nated adjective
- un·alter·nating adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of alternate1
Word History and Origins
Origin of alternate1
Example Sentences
The coverage will alternate between leagues each year and gives Turner the most postseason games on a network.
DNA and RNA strands are composed of alternating phosphate and sugar molecules, but sugars “are profoundly unstable in hot spring environments,” says David Des Marais, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
When Epic started offering alternate Fortnite payment methods that avoided Apple’s fee-taking, for instance, Apple blocked the app.
In one macabre scene, one of Edison’s employees goes so far as to publicly electrocute a dog with alternating current.
So that means in an alternate universe without any southpaw advantage, about 36 percent of current LHPs would be good enough to pitch in the major leagues.
In the absence of typical classrooms and curriculums, West Africans have opted for alternate methods of learning and education.
Then at least the American public would have been getting an alternate theory of the case about Keystone.
Underneath, a miniature version of the bug-crazy man is revealed, himself thwacking away in an alternate dimension.
The other two are da—meaning father—and te—an alternate spelling of ti.
Other new admissions to the dictionary include qayaq—an alternate spelling of kayak—and thongy.
The alternate hexameter and pentameter are, for most purposes, a more agreeable measure than the hexameter by itself.
Should it fail, the fluid can generally be pumped out by alternate compression of the tube and the bulb.
Mrs. Maloney sat on a stump near her daughter, and busied herself energetically with alternate nursing and painting.
In the alternate record of the vote, death and exile appeared to be equally balanced.
One of the most characteristic instances of these alternate winds is perhaps that afforded on the island of Jamaica.
Advertisement
Related Words
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse