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  

1. variant of alti- before a vowel.

   altazimuth.

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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  

abbreviation

1. alteration.

2. alternate.

3. altitude.

4. alto.

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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-³

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

Example Sentences

JPMorgan’s action comes as multiple alt managers, including Blue Owl and BlackRock, have moved to limit investor withdrawals from certain private credit funds.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

Malinin was among those in the crowd who gave Liu - the alt girl with her iconic halo hair and lip piercing - a standing ovation as she wrote herself into Olympic folklore.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

Blue Owl stock, at $16.31, has fallen 26% year to date, more than any of its alt firm peers, which signals either the risk of falling rates and weakening credit or a buying opportunity.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

The funniest part about posting it was deciding the alt text for the image.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2025

Some alt rock was blaring from her paint-covered Bose docking system.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan