alternate

American  

[awl-ter-nayt, al-, awl-ter-nit, al-] / ˈɔl tərˌneɪt, ˈæl-, ˈɔl tər nɪt, ˈæl- /

verb (used without object)

• alternates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• alternated,
  past participle,  past
• alternating
  present participle

1. to interchange repeatedly and regularly with one another in time or place; rotate (usually followed bywith ).

   Day alternates with night.

2. to change back and forth between conditions, states, actions, etc..

   He alternates between hope and despair.

3. to take turns.

   My sister and I alternated in doing the dishes.

4. Electricity. to reverse direction or sign periodically.

5. Linguistics. to occur as a variant in alternation with another form.

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verb (used with object)

• alternates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• alternated,
  past participle,  past
• alternating
  present participle

1. to perform or do in succession or one after another.

   to alternate comedy acts; to alternate jogging and walking.

2. to interchange successively or regularly.

   to alternate hot and cold compresses.

adjective

1. being in a constant state of succession or rotation; interchanged repeatedly one for another.

   Winter and summer are alternate seasons.

2. reciprocal; mutual.

   alternate acts of kindness.

3. every second one of a series.

   Read only the alternate lines.

4. constituting an alternative.

   The alternate route is more scenic.

5. alternative.

6. Botany.

   1. placed singly at different heights on the axis, on each side in succession, or at definite angular distances from one another, as leaves.

   2. opposite to the intervals between other organs.

      petals alternate with sepals.

noun

• alternates
  plural

1. a person authorized to fill the position, exercise the duties, etc., of another who is temporarily absent; substitute.

2. Theater.

   1. either of two actors who take turns playing the same role.

   2. an understudy.

3. alternative.

alternate British  

verb

1. (often foll by with) to occur or cause to occur successively or by turns

   day and night alternate

2. to swing repeatedly from one condition, action, etc, to another

   he alternates between success and failure

3. (tr) to interchange regularly or in succession

4. (intr) (of an electric current, voltage, etc) to reverse direction or sign at regular intervals, usually sinusoidally, the instantaneous value varying continuously

5. theatre to understudy another actor or actress

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adjective

1. occurring by turns

   alternate feelings of love and hate

2. every other or second one of a series

   he came to work on alternate days

3. being a second or further choice; alternative

   alternate director

4. botany

   1. (of leaves, flowers, etc) arranged singly at different heights on either side of the stem

   2. (of parts of a flower) arranged opposite the spaces between other parts Compare opposite

noun

1. a person who substitutes for another in his absence; stand-in

alternate Scientific  

/ ôl′tər-nĭt /

1. Arranged singly at intervals on a stem or twig. Elms, birches, oaks, cherry trees, and hickory trees have alternate leaves.

2. Compare opposite

3. Arranged regularly between other parts, as stamens between petals on a flower.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• alternateness
  noun
• nonalternating
  adjective
• quasi-alternating
  adjective
• unalternated
  adjective
• unalternating
  adjective
• alternately
  adverb
• alternatingly
  adverb
• quasi-alternatingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• alternates
  plural

Participles

• alternating
  present
• alternated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• alternate
  simple
• alternates
  simple
• have alternated
  perfect
• has alternated
  perfect
• am alternating
  progressive
• are alternating
  progressive
• is alternating
  progressive
• have been alternating
  perfect progressive
• has been alternating
  perfect progressive

Past

• alternated
  simple
• had alternated
  perfect
• was alternating
  progressive
• were alternating
  progressive
• had been alternating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will alternate
  simple
• will have alternated
  perfect
• will be alternating
  progressive
• will have been alternating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of alternate

First recorded in 1505–15, alternate is from the Latin word alternātus (past participle of alternāre ). See altern, -ate ¹

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Explanation

On a checkerboard, black squares alternate with white ones. As a verb, alternate means to do something in turns. As a noun, an alternate is a replacement. While the noun and verb seem not to mean the same thing, think of it this way: If you are brought on in a game to be someone's alternate, you are there to take their turn. Alternate can also be used as an adjective, meaning different or other. An alternate view of history is one that looks at the past from an uncommon perspective. Pay attention to the pronunciation of alternate: as a verb the end is pronounced "-nāt" and as a noun or adjective "-nət."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alternate alternates alternated alternating

Rather than spinning their entire bodies together, the snakes alternate between rolling on one side and swinging a curved section of their bodies downward beside their heads.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

The "Modern Warfare" games depict military conflicts in the modern era, inspired by international tensions, while the "Black Ops" games take place in an alternate reality where the Cold War never ended.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

And communities from Albuquerque to Laredo, Texas, have grappled with where to find alternate sources of drinking water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

The alternate takeaway would be far more concerning.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

He put his finger on the words alternate placement and rubbed it back and forth until the ink was smudged, the whole time shaking his head no.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

They don’t deserve a museum that alternates between ignoring and condemning our extraordinary heritage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Instead, many scientists have argued that the brain simply alternates attention between tasks so quickly that it creates the illusion of doing both at once.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

The rest of the album alternates between chaos and control, introspection and criticism, grungy beats and hazy surrealism.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

It alternates between "found footage" segments filmed in first person that resemble his web show, and more classic filmic shots.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

“Okay. Will do. I shall read the alternates first. Two fifth graders. Two from sixth grade. Amanda Firestone. Molly North. Elena Rodriguez. Rodney Mosul.”

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

During this moment, electronic bonds between neighboring sites alternated between stronger and weaker in a repeating pattern.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Meanwhile, his shower alternated between freezing cold and "scalding hot".

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Erika alternated between sobbing so much she couldn’t speak and sharing beloved memories about Charlie.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Yamamoto threw 20 pitches to a pair of his teammates, with right-handed hitting catcher Will Smith and left-handed hitting infielder Hyeseong Kim alternated at-bats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

My brother and I alternated going with her, and my grandfather always served Sunday supper to my grandmother and whichever of us was along as if we were regular club guests.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

A year later, the two knights took their talents to Broadway, alternating performances of Waiting for Godot with Harold Pinter's No Man's Land.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Developed in parallel by several studios, "Call of Duty" has been split into two series for more than 15 years, with new titles released in alternating years.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

The medical staff recommended breathwork and stretching sessions, along with contrast therapy, alternating between freezing-cold temperatures and heat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Under ultraviolet light, some scales in the caudal region show alternating light and dark bands running across the tail.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

This was also true of the cement squares of the walkway leading up to the Perfect House, which were bordered by perfectly matching azalea bushes, all the same height, alternating between pink and white blossoms.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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Related Words

• alter
• intersperse
• rotate
• vary
• waver

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