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

Ackman’s management company is small relative to its many alt peers.

From Barron's

The seven-year veteran, who also struggled to provide adequate protection for Herbert in the 14 games he played last season, likely will fulfill a swing role with Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt expected to return from injury.

From Los Angeles Times

Johnson, a first-round pick by the Chargers in 2022, was one of the anchors on the Chargers’ offensive line in the wake of injuries to Slater and Alt.

From Los Angeles Times

De Los contributor Ernesto Lechner is 100% responsible for this entry — he included the avant-garde alt rocker from Buenos Aires in his 2025 list of indie artists who deserved to win a Latin Grammy, calling her “the resident hurricane of Argentine rock, blessed with a corrosive sense of the absurd, a knack for pop-punk melodies, and attitude to spare.”

From Los Angeles Times

Alt manager stocks also were down.

From Barron's