alt

¹ American  

[alt] / ælt /

adjective

1. high.

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noun

1. in alt, in the first octave above the treble staff.

alt. ² American  

abbreviation

1. alteration.

2. alternate.

3. altitude.

4. alto.

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alt- ³ American  

1. a combining form of alternative, used in compound words describing a nontraditional or unconventional version within a genre or category, often something provocative, subversive, or innovative: the alt-right movement; writers of alt-lit;

   alt-country bands;

   the alt-right movement;

   alt-weeklies;

   writers of alt-lit;

   quinoa and other alt-grains.

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alt- ⁴ American  

1. variant of alti- before a vowel.

   altazimuth.

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alt British  

/ ælt /

adjective

1. (esp of vocal music) high in pitch

2. of or relating to the octave commencing with the G above the top line of the treble staff

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noun

1. in the octave directly above the treble staff

Etymology

Origin of alt¹

1525–35; < Provençal < Latin altum, noun use of neuter of altus high

Origin of alt-¹

First recorded in 1985–90; from the use of the prefix alt- in Usenet, to denote newsgroups with unconventional discussion topics

Example Sentences

Amy Alt, president of oral care at P&G China, said the company has focused on enticing packaging, attention-grabbing marketing on Chinese social media and value-for-money products to stand out.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s a competitive market,” said Alt.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Lengthy backups remain, so expect large delays/leave early or use alt. routes for a bit longer!” the department said on Twitter shortly after 8 a.m.

From Seattle Times

With the change, images that have descriptions will be given a badge that says “alt,” and clicking on that badge will show the description.

From The Verge

On an account without the new features, it’s difficult to access alt text without a screen reader.

From The Verge