alternate
al·ter·nate
(ôl′tər-nāt′, ăl′-)v. al·ter·nat·ed, al·ter·nat·ing, al·ter·nates
v.intr.
1.
a. To occur in a successive manner: day alternating with night.
b. To act or proceed by turns: The students alternated at the computer.
2. To pass back and forth from one state, action, or place to another: alternated between happiness and depression.
3. Electricity To reverse direction at regular intervals in a circuit.
v.tr.
1. To do or execute by turns.
2. To cause to alternate: alternated light and dark squares to form a pattern.
adj. (-nĭt)
1. Happening or following in turns; succeeding each other continuously: alternate seasons of the year.
2. Designating or relating to every other one of a series: alternate lines.
3. Serving or used in place of another; substitute: an alternate plan. See Usage Note at alternative.
4. Botany
a. Arranged singly at each node, as leaves or buds on different sides of a stem.
b. Arranged regularly between other parts, as stamens between petals.
n. (-nĭt)
1. A person acting in the place of another; a substitute.
2. An alternative.
[Latin alternāre, alternāt-, from alternus, by turns, from alter, other; see al- in Indo-European roots.]
al′ter·nate·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
alternate
vb
1. (often foll by with) to occur or cause to occur successively or by turns: day and night alternate.
2. (often foll by: between) 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. (Electrical Engineering) (intr) (of an electric current, voltage, etc) to reverse direction or sign at regular intervals, usually sinusoidally, the instantaneous value varying continuously
5. (Theatre) theatre (often foll by: for) to understudy another actor or actress
adj
6. occurring by turns: alternate feelings of love and hate.
7. every other or second one of a series: he came to work on alternate days.
8. being a second or further choice; alternative: alternate director.
9. (Botany) botany
a. (of leaves, flowers, etc) arranged singly at different heights on either side of the stem
b. (of parts of a flower) arranged opposite the spaces between other parts. Compare opposite4
n
US and Canadian a person who substitutes for another in his absence; stand-in
[C16: from Latin alternāre to do one thing and then another, from alternus one after the other, from alter other]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
al•ter•nate
(v. ˈɔl tərˌneɪt, ˈæl-; adj., n. -nɪt) v. -nat•ed, -nat•ing,
adj., n. v.i.
1. to interchange repeatedly and regularly with one another in time or place (usu. fol. by with): Day alternates with night.
2. to change back and forth between states, actions, etc.: He alternates between hope and despair.
3. to take turns: The children alternate in doing chores.
4. Elect. to reverse direction or sign periodically.
v.t.5. to perform or do in succession or one after another.
6. to interchange successively or regularly: to alternate hot and cold compresses.
adj.7. interchanged repeatedly one for another: Winter and summer are alternate seasons.
8. reciprocal; mutual: alternate acts of kindness.
9. every second one of a series: Read only the alternate lines.
11. Bot.
a. placed singly at different heights on the axis, on each side in succession, or at definite angular distances from one another, as leaves on a stem.
b. opposite to the intervals between other parts: petals alternate with sepals.
12. a person authorized to take the place of another who is temporarily absent.
[1505–15; < Latin alternātus, past participle of alternāre to alternate, v. derivative of alternus by turns, derivative of alter other]
al′ter•nate•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
alternate
– alternative1. 'alternate'
Alternate actions, events, or processes keep happening regularly after each other.
...the alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles.
If something happens on alternate days, it happens on one day, then does not happen on the next day, then happens again on the day after it, and so on. Things can also happen in alternate weeks, months, or years.
We saw each other on alternate Sunday nights.
The two courses are available in alternate years.
2. 'alternative'
You use alternative to describe something that can be used, had, or done instead of something else.
But still people try to find alternative explanations.
There is, however, an alternative approach.
Note that in American English, alternate is sometimes used with this meaning.
How would a clever researcher rule out this alternate explanation?
Alternative can also be a noun. An alternative to something is something else that you can have or do instead.
Food suppliers are working hard to provide organic alternatives to everyday foodstuffs.
A magistrate offered them a Domestic Education course as an alternative to prison.
There is no alternative to permanent storage.
You can also say that someone has two or more alternatives, meaning that they have two or more courses of action to choose from.
If a man is threatened with attack, he has five alternatives: he can fight, flee, hide, summon help, or try to appease his attacker.
Note that it used to be considered incorrect to talk about more than two alternatives.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
alternate
Past participle: alternated
Gerund: alternating
Imperative |
---|
alternate |
alternate |
Present |
---|
I alternate |
you alternate |
he/she/it alternates |
we alternate |
you alternate |
they alternate |
Preterite |
---|
I alternated |
you alternated |
he/she/it alternated |
we alternated |
you alternated |
they alternated |
Present Continuous |
---|
I am alternating |
you are alternating |
he/she/it is alternating |
we are alternating |
you are alternating |
they are alternating |
Present Perfect |
---|
I have alternated |
you have alternated |
he/she/it has alternated |
we have alternated |
you have alternated |
they have alternated |
Past Continuous |
---|
I was alternating |
you were alternating |
he/she/it was alternating |
we were alternating |
you were alternating |
they were alternating |
Past Perfect |
---|
I had alternated |
you had alternated |
he/she/it had alternated |
we had alternated |
you had alternated |
they had alternated |
Future |
---|
I will alternate |
you will alternate |
he/she/it will alternate |
we will alternate |
you will alternate |
they will alternate |
Future Perfect |
---|
I will have alternated |
you will have alternated |
he/she/it will have alternated |
we will have alternated |
you will have alternated |
they will have alternated |
Future Continuous |
---|
I will be alternating |
you will be alternating |
he/she/it will be alternating |
we will be alternating |
you will be alternating |
they will be alternating |
Present Perfect Continuous |
---|
I have been alternating |
you have been alternating |
he/she/it has been alternating |
we have been alternating |
you have been alternating |
they have been alternating |
Future Perfect Continuous |
---|
I will have been alternating |
you will have been alternating |
he/she/it will have been alternating |
we will have been alternating |
you will have been alternating |
they will have been alternating |
Past Perfect Continuous |
---|
I had been alternating |
you had been alternating |
he/she/it had been alternating |
we had been alternating |
you had been alternating |
they had been alternating |
Conditional |
---|
I would alternate |
you would alternate |
he/she/it would alternate |
we would alternate |
you would alternate |
they would alternate |
Past Conditional |
---|
I would have alternated |
you would have alternated |
he/she/it would have alternated |
we would have alternated |
you would have alternated |
they would have alternated |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun | 1. | ![]() backup man, fill-in, reliever, stand-in, backup, substitute, relief - someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins" |
Verb | 1. | alternate - go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions vary, alter, change - become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence; "her mood changes in accordance with the weather"; "The supermarket's selection of vegetables varies according to the season" |
2. | ![]() exchange - hand over one and receive another, approximately equivalent; "exchange prisoners"; "exchange employees between branches of the company" rotate - exchange on a regular basis; "We rotate the lead soprano every night" | |
3. | ![]() memorise, memorize, con, learn - commit to memory; learn by heart; "Have you memorized your lines for the play yet?" | |
4. | ![]() change by reversal, reverse, turn - change to the contrary; "The trend was reversed"; "the tides turned against him"; "public opinion turned when it was revealed that the president had an affair with a White House intern" | |
5. | ![]() spell - take turns working; "the workers spell every four hours" act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" | |
Adj. | 1. | ![]() |
2. | alternate - serving or used in place of another; "an alternative plan" secondary - being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate; "the stone will be hauled to a secondary crusher"; "a secondary source"; "a secondary issue"; "secondary streams" | |
3. | ![]() | |
4. | ![]() phytology, botany - the branch of biology that studies plants opposite, paired - of leaves etc; growing in pairs on either side of a stem; "opposite leaves" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
alternate
adjective
1. every other, every second The course is taught in alternate years.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
alternate
verbTo do, use, or occur in successive turns:
One that takes the place of another:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُتَنَاوِبمُتَنَاوِب، مُتَعَاقِبيَتَعَاقَبيَتَنَاوَب
střídatstřídavýkaždý druhýob
hver andenskifteskiftevisvekslevekslende
vuoroittainenvuorotella
alterniratinaizmjeničan
minden másodikváltogat
annar hversem skiptist áskiptast á, hafa til skiptis
交互の
교대의
besikaitaliojantiskaitaliojimasiskaitaliotikaitaliotiskas antras
katrs otraismainīgsmainīt
striedať
menjaje
alternativomväxlande
ซึ่งสลับกัน
bir…ara ilebiribirini izleyenkarşılıklınöbetleşe yapmaksıralı
luân phiên
alternate
B. [ɒlˈtɜːnɪt] N (US) (Sport) (at conference) → suplente mf
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
alternate
[ɔːlˈtɜːrnɪt]
adj
(US) (= alternative, other) [route] → autre; [version] → autre; [method] → de rechange; [plans] → de rechange
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
alternate
adj
(= alternative) → alternativ; alternate route → Ausweichstrecke f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
alternate
[adj ɒlˈtɜːnɪt; vb ˈɒltəneɪt]
1. adj (alternating, layers) → alternato/a; (every other, days) → alterni/e pl, uno/a sì e uno/a no
on alternate days → ogni due giorni
alternate angles → angoli alterni
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
alternate
(ˈoːltəneit) verbto use, do etc by turns, repeatedly, one after the other. John alternates between teaching and studying; He tried to alternate red and yellow tulips along the path as he planted them.
(oːlˈtəːnət) adjective1. coming, happening etc in turns, one after the other. The water came in alternate bursts of hot and cold.
2. every second (day, week etc). My friend and I take the children to school on alternate days.
alˈternately (-ˈtəːnət-) adverbShe felt alternately hot and cold.
alterˈnation nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
alternate
→ مُتَنَاوِب střídavý vekslende abwechselnd εναλλασσόμενος alterno vuoroittainen alterné naizmjeničan alternato 交互の 교대의 afwisselend vekslende naprzemienny alternado чередующийся omväxlande ซึ่งสลับกัน karşılıklı luân phiên 交替的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
alternate
vt. alternar, turnar; alternating;
n. alteración.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
alternate
adj alterno; — days días alternos; un día sí, un día no; vt, vi alternar
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.