alternate

adjective

al·ter·nate | \ US and Canadian ˈȯl-tər-nət also ˈal-

; chiefly British ȯl-ˈtər-\

Definition of alternate

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : occurring or succeeding by turns a day of alternate sunshine and rain

2a : arranged first on one side and then on the other at different levels or points along an axial line a plant with alternate leaves — compare opposite entry 1

b : arranged one above or alongside the other alternate layers of brick and stone

3 : every other : every second He works on alternate days.

4 : constituting an alternative took the alternate route home

5 : alternative sense 2 did not approve of their son's alternate lifestyle

alternate

verb

al·ter·nate | \ ˈȯl-tər-ˌnāt also ˈal-

alternated; alternating

Definition of alternate (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to perform by turns or in succession alternated comedies and dramas

2 : to cause to alternate

intransitive verb

: to change from one to another repeatedly Rain alternated with sun.

alternate

noun

al·ter·nate | \ US and Canadian ˈȯl-tər-nət also ˈal-

; chiefly British ȯl-ˈtər-\

Definition of alternate (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : alternative

2 : one that substitutes for or alternates with another They chose twelve jurors and two alternates.

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Examples of alternate in a Sentence

Adjective

Alternate shades of wood formed a pattern around the window. We took an alternate route because of the traffic. Due to an emergency, the plane landed at an alternate airport.

Verb

The poem alternates fear and hope. The light and dark woods alternate to form an elegant pattern around the window.

Noun

The town has elected five councilors and two alternates.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

And the costs to ship the materials to the alternate markets has increased — shipping rates to China were very low because of the volume of empty containers going back to China. — Author: David Goldstein, Anchorage Daily News, "Cities scramble to rewrite rules on recycling after China restricts ‘foreign garbage’," 3 July 2018 But the show lives in this alternate plane of what my life might have been like with slightly different circumstances, which felt like a more interesting place to write from. — Caitlin Brody, Glamour, "Hulu's Ramy Is Going to Be Your Next TV Obsession," 20 Apr. 2019 The Blues alternate captain has recorded at least 30 goals and 30 assists for five straight seasons. — Scott Charles, The Seattle Times, "Vesey scores go-ahead goal in 3rd, Rangers top Blues 4-2," 29 Mar. 2019 This week's very special episode of Riverdale blesses us with an alternate reality in which Archie and the gang are minor characters, while Josie, Cheryl, Reggie, and Kevin are the Core Four. — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Can Riverdale Please Be "Bizarrodale" Every Week?," 7 Feb. 2019 The show takes place in this alternate reality where there's no real poverty. — Elizabeth Angell, Town & Country, "The Good Place Creator Michael Schur on How He Made Philosophy a Pop Culture Phenomenon," 6 Dec. 2018 All that uncertainty makes alternate revenue streams crucial, especially for grocers, which generate much skimpier margins than, say, fashion or luxury retailers. — Matthew Boyle, The Seattle Times, "Amazon has a big advertising business. Walmart wants one too," 19 Feb. 2019 Following the outbreak of a nuclear war, Hel is one of thousands of people who fled from New York City into an alternate timeline — our own. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "All the science fiction and fantasy books we’re looking forward to in 2019," 30 Dec. 2018 An alternate option for Amy is, wait for it...food! — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Actress Amy Smart Reveals How She Decorates Her Home For The Holidays With Husband Carter Oosterhouse," 7 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Told in alternating perspectives between sisters, Violet and Lillian are left to take care of Althea and Proctor’s twin teenage girls after they are arrested for fraud. — Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, "'The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls' Is a Stunning Debut From Anissa Gray," 1 Apr. 2019 Layer the squares on top of each other, alternating colors for a multicolored bloom. 3. — Stephanie Shore Fisher, Good Housekeeping, "How to Make Tissue Paper Flower Lollipops for Valentine's Day," 6 Feb. 2019 And all this after the natural blond spent years alternating colors between her born-with-it shade and Sansa Stark's eye-catching red. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "Sophie Turner Wasn't Allowed to Wash Her Hair While Filming Game of Thrones," 17 Jan. 2019 Each chapter is narrated by an alternating sister, revealing layers of complex family history and demons. — Angela Haupt, The Seattle Times, "The 10 books to read in 2019 based on what you loved in 2018," 7 Jan. 2019 Additionally, and somewhat unnecessarily, there is also a magical old man who appears in Chicago and Belgravia with two alternating accents who doesn’t appear to really help with anything, but is certainly invested in the romantic plot. — Kelsea Stahler, Teen Vogue, "Netflix Original Christmas Movies: A Guide to the Cheesy Holiday Flicks," 11 Dec. 2018 This makes them especially sensitive to passing electric fields, like the alternating fields of radio waves. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "A new antenna using single atoms could usher in the age of atomic radio," 19 Sep. 2018 Also, the batting-practice pitcher who gave up more long balls — two threw each game, alternating innings — received a bonus. — Chris Boghossian, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago ties run deep in original 'Home Run Derby,' a short-lived TV show at (the other) Wrigley Field," 13 July 2018 Add ice to serving glass, and pour in blended mocktail. Garnish with a stalk of fresh celery, and a toothpick of alternating all natural olives and pickle slices. — Health.com, "6 Mocktail Recipes That Make Happy Hour Way Healthier," 12 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The jury of 16 people, four of whom are alternates, includes six people of color. — Amy Forliti, The Seattle Times, "Activists: Cop’s shooting of white woman treated differently," 13 Apr. 2019 The Bears’ primary uniforms are pretty much perfect, so alternates are completely unnecessary. — Steven Ruiz, For The Win, "Every NFL team's best alternate uniform, ranked," 3 July 2018 Plus, the skater divulges what life as an Olympic alternate is really like. — Rose Minutaglio, Cosmopolitan, "EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Wagner Opens Up About Her "Bittersweet" Life As Team USA's Figure Skating Alternate," 15 Feb. 2018 Required by recent rulings to propose an alternate means for his own death, Mr. Bucklew offered nitrogen gas. — Jess Bravin, WSJ, "Supreme Court Rejects Ailing Killer’s Claim That Lethal Injection Will Be Too Painful," 1 Apr. 2019 If a woman wins, sometimes her male alternate will seek to oust her to take power. — Paola Flores, Fox News, "As women's roles expand in Bolivian politics, so do attacks," 25 Aug. 2018 Then alternate between pulling your right knee to right elbow, and left knee to left elbow. — NBC News, "5 exercises that target those hard-to-tone body parts," 17 May 2018 The interactive display alternates between heat maps of live data feeds from the online survey company’s servers around the world and a giant rendition of the company’s mascot, Goldie. — Nerissa Pacio Itchon, San Francisco Chronicle, "SurveyMonkey designs HQ with everything its employees could ask for — because they did," 23 Jan. 2018 Earlier Monday, lawyers chose 12 jurors and two alternates to hear the case. — Bruce Schreiner, The Seattle Times, "Rand Paul testifies he feared for his life after 2017 attack," 28 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alternate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.