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• alt
  alt

  adjective

  high.
• alt-
  alt-

  variant of alti- before a vowel.
• alt.
  alt.

  abbreviation

  alteration.

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.

5. alternative.

6. Computers. alternative user

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alt alt- alt.

What’s so funny is I think we all thought we were having this very niche alt experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

I would listen to that all day, every day — amongst ’90s alt music, some Nine Inch Nails and stuff because that’s what John would do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 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

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

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt- rock stations from D.C.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

“I had a complex that I was too not alt. I felt like Rob Thomas,” he recalled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2023

“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 ● Mar. 16, 2023

So the next day the two of them jacked into Usenet and spent three hours sifting through about 7,400 files on alt. binaries.etc.

From Time Magazine Archive

Today, pop music often divides listeners more than it unites them, as fans take sides for and against gangsta rap or rap-rock or alt. country or teen pop.

From Time Magazine Archive

Latitude by uncertain obs. mer. alt. of the sun 13 11'.

From The Journal of a Mission to the Interior of Africa, in the Year 1805 by John Whishaw

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