alternate

CEFRB2

/ɒlˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Happening or used in turns, or serving as another choice.

  2. 02

    verb

    To happen in turns or switch between two things.

Examples

  • There are pictures on alternate pages of the book.

  • Odd numbers alternate with even ones.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɒl.tə(ɹ)ˌneɪt/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. 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.

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

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

More examples

In context

  • He lives in an alternate universe and an alternate reality.

  • Hyperlinked text is displayed in alternate color in a Web browser.

  • the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

To ensure everyone gained experience, the captain asked players to blank the team leadership each week.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Latin alternātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin alternō (“to take turns”) (see -ate (1,2 and 3)), from alternus (“one after another, by turns”), from alter (“other”) + -nus. Doublet of altern; see also alter.