alternate

noun

(US) A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.

That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.

(mathematics) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.

(US) A replacement of equal or greater value or function.

verb

(transitive) To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.

(intransitive) To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with.

(intransitive) To vary by turns.

(transitive, geometry) To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation.

adjective

Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly).

(mathematics) Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second.

(US) Other; alternative.

(heraldry) Alternating; (of e.g. a pair of tinctures which a charge is coloured) succeeding in turns, or (relative to the field) counterchanged.

(botany, of leaves) Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence

Roots

alteralter- · Latin · other

Synonyms for alternate

alternativen understudyn substituten surrogateadj replacementn switchn interchangen counterchangev substitutionn variantn succedaneumn

Words related to alternate

alternantadj alternationn alternatelyadv subalternatev alternativelyadv fallbackn optionn diversiform alterantadj differentadj varyingadj vacillatedv differingv substitutiveadj preferredadj replacev replacerv variegatingv

Synonyms & related words for alternate

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of alternate — including alternative, understudy, substitute, surrogate, replacement, switch. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to alternate

Explore words related to alternate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include alternant, alternation, alternately, subalternate, alternatively, fallback, option, diversiform. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for alternate

Common synonyms for alternate include alternative, understudy, substitute, surrogate, replacement, switch, interchange, counterchange — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does alternate come from?

The word alternate breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root alter-, from Latin alter (“other”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.