alternating

al·ter·nat·ing | \ ˈȯl-tər-ˌnā-tiŋ

also ˈal- \

Definition of alternating

: occurring by turns or in succession a fabric with alternating red and blue stripes … they lacked experience with volcanoes such as St. Helens, a composite of alternating layers of ash and lava.— Rowe Findley

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Examples of alternating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In Montgomery, churches could have alternating rows of pews roped off and pillows placed in the others, asking only family members to sit together. — Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al, "The new normal: How Alabama might reopen after coronavirus lockdowns," 19 Apr. 2020 To rein in these non-traditional energy sources, researchers typically rely on rectifiers, or devices designed to convert the alternating current of electromagnetic waves—which oscillate in every which direction—into a direct current. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "What If WiFi Could Charge Your Phone in the Future?," 2 Apr. 2020 The novel presents the alternating viewpoints of Alice and Eleanor in first person, as well as several chapters following John Billington’s point of view (which is disconcertingly rendered in third person). — Emily Gray Tedrowe, USA TODAY, "Review: TaraShea Nesbit's 'Beheld' a compelling tale of Plymouth colonists through women's eyes," 16 Mar. 2020 People will also have alternating chills and sweats, and body aches. — New York Times, "Temperature Check: Tracking Fever, a Key Symptom of Coronavirus," 30 Mar. 2020 Ions enter at one end and are shuffled along through alternating regions where they can be held for storage or hit by lasers that perform qubit manipulation operations on them. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "New entry in commercial quantum computing, using entirely different tech," 3 Mar. 2020 Trump combined toothless belligerence with economic sanctions designed to destroy Iran’s economy and weaken its regime, similar to his approach to North Korea but without the alternating eruptions of insult and bonhomie. — Steven Simon, The New York Review of Books, "The Middle East: Trump Blunders In," 16 Jan. 2020 NADAAA’s contribution to this formula in Cleveland was to stagger alternating floor layouts in order avoid creating a monotonous gridiron of windows. — Steven Litt, cleveland, "Beacon apartment tower’s facade most visually dynamic architecture in new downtown Cleveland skyline," 19 Jan. 2020 The pattern is less bothersome when used in flooring because the alternating zigzags are all the same color. — Elizabeth Mayhew, Washington Post, "6 decorating trends that need to die," 31 Dec. 2019

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