Alternate (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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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. to reverse direction or sign periodically.
  5. 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.
    • placed singly at different heights on the axis, on each side in succession, or at definite angular distances from one another, as leaves.
    • 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.
    • either of two actors who take turns playing the same role.
    • an understudy.
  3. alternative.
verb (ˈɔːltəˌneɪt)
  1. to occur or cause to occur successively or by turns
  2. to swing repeatedly from one condition, action, etc, to another
  3. to interchange regularly or in succession
  4. (of an electric current, voltage, etc) to reverse direction or sign at regular intervals, usually sinusoidally, the instantaneous value varying continuously
  5. to understudy another actor or actress
adjective (ɔːlˈtɜːnɪt)
  1. occurring by turns
  2. every other or second one of a series
  3. being a second or further choice; alternative
  4. botany
    • (of leaves, flowers, etc) arranged singly at different heights on either side of the stem
    • (of parts of a flower) arranged opposite the spaces between other parts
noun (ˈɔːltənɪt, ɔːlˈtɜːnɪt)
  1. a person who substitutes for another in his absence; stand-in
    Alternate (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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