alternate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to interchange repeatedly and regularly with one another in time or place; rotate (usually followed bywith ).
Day alternates with night.
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to change back and forth between conditions, states, actions, etc..
He alternates between hope and despair.
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to take turns.
My sister and I alternated in doing the dishes.
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Electricity. to reverse direction or sign periodically.
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Linguistics. to occur as a variant in alternation with another form.
verb (used with object)
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to perform or do in succession or one after another.
to alternate comedy acts; to alternate jogging and walking.
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to interchange successively or regularly.
to alternate hot and cold compresses.
adjective
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being in a constant state of succession or rotation; interchanged repeatedly one for another.
Winter and summer are alternate seasons.
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reciprocal; mutual.
alternate acts of kindness.
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every second one of a series.
Read only the alternate lines.
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constituting an alternative.
The alternate route is more scenic.
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Botany.
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placed singly at different heights on the axis, on each side in succession, or at definite angular distances from one another, as leaves.
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opposite to the intervals between other organs.
petals alternate with sepals.
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noun
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a person authorized to fill the position, exercise the duties, etc., of another who is temporarily absent; substitute.
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Theater.
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either of two actors who take turns playing the same role.
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an understudy.
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verb
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(often foll by with) to occur or cause to occur successively or by turns
day and night alternate
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to swing repeatedly from one condition, action, etc, to another
he alternates between success and failure
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(tr) to interchange regularly or in succession
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(intr) (of an electric current, voltage, etc) to reverse direction or sign at regular intervals, usually sinusoidally, the instantaneous value varying continuously
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theatre to understudy another actor or actress
adjective
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occurring by turns
alternate feelings of love and hate
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every other or second one of a series
he came to work on alternate days
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being a second or further choice; alternative
alternate director
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botany
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(of leaves, flowers, etc) arranged singly at different heights on either side of the stem
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(of parts of a flower) arranged opposite the spaces between other parts Compare opposite
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noun
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Arranged singly at intervals on a stem or twig. Elms, birches, oaks, cherry trees, and hickory trees have alternate leaves.
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Compare opposite
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Arranged regularly between other parts, as stamens between petals on a flower.
Other Word Forms
- alternately adverb
- alternateness noun
- alternatingly adverb
- nonalternating adjective
- quasi-alternating adjective
- quasi-alternatingly adverb
- unalternated adjective
- unalternating adjective
Etymology
Origin of alternate
First recorded in 1505–15, alternate is from the Latin word alternātus (past participle of alternāre ). See altern, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sanders was not among the first four alternates at quarterback in the AFC.
From Los Angeles Times
As we eat, I look around, and it feels like we’ve stepped into an alternate universe.
From Literature
He opened the book to a page flagged with a green sticky note and found a poem titled “alternate names for black boys.”
From Literature
It will be Smith’s first on-field referee assignment for the Super Bowl after he served as an alternate referee for Super Bowls LV and LVIII.
From Los Angeles Times
The saga of Sam, William and the Rabbit is told through their alternating viewpoints.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
