What does alternate mean?

Definitions for alternate
ˈɔl tərˌneɪt, ˈæl-; -nɪtal·ter·nate

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word alternate.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. surrogate, alternate, replacementadjective

    someone who takes the place of another person

  2. alternate(a)adjective

    every second one of a series

    "the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays"; "jam every other day"- the White Queen

  3. alternate, alternative, substituteadjective

    serving or used in place of another

    "an alternative plan"

  4. alternate(a), alternating(a)adjective

    occurring by turns; first one and then the other

    "alternating feelings of love and hate"

  5. alternateverb

    of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired

    "stems with alternate leaves"

  6. alternate, jumpverb

    go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions

  7. alternateverb

    exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions

  8. understudy, alternateverb

    be an understudy or alternate for a role

  9. interchange, tack, switch, alternate, flip, flip-flopverb

    reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

  10. alternate, take turnsverb

    do something in turns

    "We take turns on the night shift"

Wiktionary

  1. alternatenoun

    That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.

    Grateful alternates of substantial. -Matthew Prior

  2. alternatenoun

    A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.

  3. alternatenoun

    A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.

  4. alternatenoun

    A replacement of equal or greater value or function.

  5. alternatenoun

    Figures or tinctures that succeed each other by turns.

  6. alternateverb

    To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.

  7. alternateverb

    To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time;followed by with.

    The flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.

  8. alternateverb

    To vary by turns.

    The land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.

  9. alternateadjective

    Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal.

    And bid alternate passions fall and rise. -Alexander Pope

  10. alternateadjective

    Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second.

    the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

  11. alternateadjective

    Other or alternative.

  12. alternateadjective

    Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence. --Gray.

  13. Etymology: From alterno, alternus, from alter. See altern, alter.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. ALTERNATEadjective

    Being by turns; one after another; reciprocal.

    Etymology: alternus, Lat.

    Friendship consists properly in mutual offices, and a generous strife in alternate acts of kindness. South.

    Hear how Timotheus’ various lays surprise,
    And bid alternate passions fall and rise!
    While, at each change, the son of Lybian Jove
    Now burns with glory, and then melts with love. Alexander Pope.

  2. Alternatenoun

    That which happens alternately; vicissitude.

    Etymology: from alternate, adj.

    And rais’d in pleasure, or repos’d in ease,
    Grateful alternates of substantial peace,
    They bless the long nocturnal influence shed
    On the crown’d goblet, and the genial bed. Matthew Prior.

  3. To Alternateverb

    Etymology: alterno, Lat.

    Those who, in their course,
    Melodious hymns about the sov’reign throne
    Alternate all night long. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. v.

    The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends, alternates the disposition of good and evil. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmologia Sacra, b. iii.

ChatGPT

  1. alternate

    Alternate usually refers to occurring or succeeding by turns, or one that substitutes for or alternates with another. It can also mean every other, every second one, or offering a choice between two or more possibilities.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Alternateadjective

    being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal

  2. Alternateadjective

    designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. ; read every alternate line

  3. Alternateadjective

    distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence

  4. Alternatenoun

    that which alternates with something else; vicissitude

  5. Alternatenoun

    a substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty

  6. Alternatenoun

    a proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means

  7. Alternateverb

    to perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly

  8. Alternateverb

    to happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; -- followed by with; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other

  9. Alternateverb

    to vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains

  10. Etymology: [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternate, fr. alternus. See Altern, Alter.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Alternate

    al′tėr-nāt, or al-tėr′nāt, v.t. to cause to follow by turns or one after the other.—v.i. to happen by turns: to follow every other or second time—also Al′ternise.—adjs. Al′tern (Milton), alternate, acting by turns; Alter′nant (geol.), in alternate layers; Alter′nate, one after the other: by turns.—adv. Alter′nately.—ns. Alter′nateness, Alter′nacy (rare); Alternā′tion, the act of alternating: interchange: reading or singing antiphonally.—adj. Alter′native, offering a choice of two things.—n. a choice between two things.—adv. Alter′natively. [L. alter, other.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. alternate

    Reciprocal.--Alternate angles are the internal angles formed by a line cutting two parallels, and lying on the opposite side of the cutting line; the one below the first parallel, and the other above.--Alternate ratio is that of which the antecedents and consequents bear respectively to each other in any proportion which has the quantities of the same kind.

Editors Contribution

  1. alternate

    separate or different from others

    "he took the alternate route to the highway because of the traffic jam on the main route."


    Submitted by anonymous on March 4, 2014  

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of alternate in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of alternate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of alternate in a Sentence

  1. Jason Haag:

    The alternate therapy that saved my life is my service dog Axel.

  2. Haribhadra Acharya:

    Chitwan( Chitwan National Park) is a major habitat for rhinos in Nepal but we have translocated them to( other parks) to make an alternate population and( as a result) the population has increased in those parks, and in Chitwan as well.

  3. Madeline Roache:

    Russians who get their truth from the state media are living in an alternate reality.

  4. Steve Born:

    The influx of migrants into Budapest, specifically, has caused interruptions in local and regional train service, we have had Monograms guests in the region and while they have not faced any safety concerns, we have made alternate arrangements for them to travel by coach instead of train when going from Budapest to Vienna. Other than that minor transportation shift – and monitoring the situation very closely, of course – it has been business as usual for Globus, Cosmos and Monograms throughout Europe.

  5. Daniel Brothers:

    A bathymetric survey at the time, which only imaged relatively shallow seafloor, down to 180 meters( 330 feet) deep, did not reveal evidence of a landslide in nearby Dangerous Passage or the other waterways around Chenega, alternate explanations involving seafloor movement during the earthquake did not fit the timing and severity of the Chenega tsunami as described by eyewitnesses.

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Translations for alternate

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"alternate." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/alternate>.

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    ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding
    A value
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