alternate

[ verb awl-ter-neyt, al-; adjective noun awl-ter-nit, al- ]

verb (used without object)

, al·ter·nat·ed, al·ter·nat·ing.

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

   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.

verb (used with object)

, al·ter·nat·ed, al·ter·nat·ing.

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 ( defs 4, 6 ).
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

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

verb

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

   day and night alternate

2. introften foll bybetween 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. introften foll byfor theatre to understudy another actor or actress

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

/ 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.

Other Words From

• alter·nate·ly adverb
• alter·nate·ness noun
• alter·nating·ly adverb
• non·alter·nating adjective
• quasi-alter·nating adjective
• quasi-alter·nating·ly adverb
• un·alter·nated adjective
• un·alter·nating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alternate¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of alternate¹

C16: from Latin alternāre to do one thing and then another, from alternus one after the other, from alter other

Example Sentences

The coverage will alternate between leagues each year and gives Turner the most postseason games on a network.

From Fortune

DNA and RNA strands are composed of alternating phosphate and sugar molecules, but sugars “are profoundly unstable in hot spring environments,” says David Des Marais, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

From Science News

When Epic started offering alternate Fortnite payment methods that avoided Apple’s fee-taking, for instance, Apple blocked the app.

From Fortune

In one macabre scene, one of Edison’s employees goes so far as to publicly electrocute a dog with alternating current.

From Science News

So that means in an alternate universe without any southpaw advantage, about 36 percent of current LHPs would be good enough to pitch in the major leagues.

From FiveThirtyEight

In the absence of typical classrooms and curriculums, West Africans have opted for alternate methods of learning and education.

From The Daily Beast

Then at least the American public would have been getting an alternate theory of the case about Keystone.

From The Daily Beast

Underneath, a miniature version of the bug-crazy man is revealed, himself thwacking away in an alternate dimension.

From The Daily Beast

The other two are da—meaning father—and te—an alternate spelling of ti.

From The Daily Beast

Other new admissions to the dictionary include qayaq—an alternate spelling of kayak—and thongy.

From The Daily Beast

The alternate hexameter and pentameter are, for most purposes, a more agreeable measure than the hexameter by itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Should it fail, the fluid can generally be pumped out by alternate compression of the tube and the bulb.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Maloney sat on a stump near her daughter, and busied herself energetically with alternate nursing and painting.

From Project Gutenberg

In the alternate record of the vote, death and exile appeared to be equally balanced.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the most characteristic instances of these alternate winds is perhaps that afforded on the island of Jamaica.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• alter
• intersperse
• rotate
• vary
• waver