alpha

noun

ˈal-fə How to pronounce alpha (audio)
Definition of alphanext
as in beginning
the point at which something begins money is not the alpha and omega—the beginning and end—of life's purpose

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alpha All four films contend with the tech alphas trying to remake our lives in their image. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026 And inside your respiratory system there isn’t any protective skin, so alpha radiation develops its full potential. — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026 In neighboring Massachusetts, positive alpha-gal tests have increased substantially on Martha’s Vineyard. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026 Affleck, always at his best in roles that place his all-American alpha qualities under a harsh, sweat-inducing spotlight, has cast himself ideally here. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for alpha
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alpha
  1. beginning
  2. start
  3. onset
  4. inception
  5. launch
  6. commencement
Noun
  • Expect some traffic back-ups at the beginning and end of the game as parking lots empty and drivers hit the road in what is a construction zone on highways running through downtown.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement At the beginning of May, separatists turned in a petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures to push for a vote on leaving Canada, while opponents collected signatures in support of staying.
    — Chantelle Lee, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of beginning
Noun
  • The anticipated early 2028 production start will mark the next stage of the company’s investment in Colorado.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The Heat also stuck with essentially the same bench rotation (but with a twist) despite its rough start to the season.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of start
Noun
  • But in those who used it more addictively, social reward activity peaked before puberty’s onset.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • During the experiment, the chip analyzed signals to predict the onset of sawtooth instabilities, which involve rapid changes in plasma conditions.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of onset
Noun
  • This happened despite the fact that calculations of orbital forcings, together with modeling of how carbon dioxide interferes with glacial inception, have suggested the next ice age was postponed by tens of thousands of years.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026
  • That’s a wild thing to imagine, since the iPhone has had very few fundamental changes since its inception.
    — Allison Johnson, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of inception
Noun
  • Each ship comes with 16 missile launch cells, a Lockheed Martin SPY-7 radar, an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter, and other cutting-edge missile defense capabilities.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • This was the 36th launch and landing for B1063, which notably launched NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission in November 2021.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of launch
Noun
  • Their achievement is worthy of commencement speakers from the local, state and federal level — including Nancy Pelosi.
    — Noel Brennan, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The city’s post came shortly after Butker delivered a commencement speech on May 14, 2024, at Benedictine College.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of commencement

Browse Nearby Words

alp
alpha
alpha and omega
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Alpha.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alpha. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All