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alternate - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'alternate' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Alternate [ a.]
- Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal.
- 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; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. ; read every alternate line.
- Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence.
2 . Alternate [ n.]
- That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.
- A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.
- A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.
3 . Alternate [ v. i.]
- To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; -- followed by with; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.
- To vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.
4 . Alternate [ v. t.]
- To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.

Meaning of 'alternate' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . alternate [ v]
Meaning (1):
- do something in turns
Example in sentence:
  • We take turns on the night shift
2 . alternate [ a]
Meaning (2):
- of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired
Example in sentence:
  • stems with alternate leaves
3 . alternate [ s]
Meaning (3):
- occurring by turns; first one and then the other
Example in sentence:
  • alternating feelings of love and hate
Meaning (4):
- serving or used in place of another
Example in sentence:
  • an alternative plan
Meaning (5):
- every second one of a series
Example in sentence:
  • jam every other day;
  • the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays

Nearby Words:

alt altaian altaic altar altarage altarist altarpiece altarwise altazimuth alter

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