Alternate
['ɔːltəneɪt;'ɒl-] or ['ɔltɚnət]
Definition
(verb.) do something in turns; 'We take turns on the night shift'.
(verb.) go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions.
(verb.) exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions.
(adj.) of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired; 'stems with alternate leaves' .
(adj.) serving or used in place of another; 'an alternative plan' .
(adj.) occurring by turns; first one and then the other; 'alternating feelings of love and hate' .
(adj.) every second one of a series; 'the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays'; 'jam every other day'- the White Queen .
Checker: Velma--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
(a.) 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.
(a.) Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence.
(n.) That which alternates with something else; vicissitude.
(n.) A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.
(n.) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.
(v. t.) To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.
(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.
(v. i.) To vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.
Typed by Dave
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Reciprocal, one after another (by turns).[2]. (Bot.) On different sides successively.
v. n. Reciprocate, act interchangeably.
v. a. Perform reciprocally or by turns.
Checked by Leroy
Definition
v.t. to cause to follow by turns or one after the other.—v.i. to happen by turns: to follow every other or second time—also Al′ternise.—adjs. Al′tern (Milton) alternate acting by turns; Alter′nant (geol.) in alternate layers; Alter′nate one after the other: by turns.—adv. Alter′nately.—ns. Alter′nateness Alter′nacy (rare); Alternā′tion the act of alternating: interchange: reading or singing antiphonally.—adj. Alter′native offering a choice of two things.—n. a choice between two things.—adv. Alter′natively.
Edited by Claudette
Examples
- By dint of alternate threats, promises, and bribes, the lady in question was ultimately prevailed upon to undertake the commission. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Watt saw that the alternate heating and cooling of the cylinder made the engine work slowly and caused an excessive consumption of steam. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Great as is the force at work, ages are required to produce a range of mountains like the Cordilleras; moreover, progress is not uniform and subsid ence may alternate with elevation. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Alternate frosts and thaws succeeding to floods, rendered the country impassable. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- The approach end of the bed, approximately eighteen feet long, is constructed of maple, with each alternate strip of the 3 x 1-inch bed stock about eighteen inches shorter. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Then I tried alternate words, but neither 'the of for' nor 'supply game London' promised to throw any light upon it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- During the alternate periods of elevation and of stationary level the record will generally be blank. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- It was to the alternating voice that gave out about one-tenth of them--the voice that had wished her good night. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The currents are then said to be alternating. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- For this purpose the alternating current seems eminently adapted, as transformers only are needed to raise the line to high transmission voltage and to lower it again for use. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Pasteur was racked with fears alternating w ith hopes, his anxiety growing more intense as the virulence of the inoculations increased. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Splitting and crumbling of rock caused by alternating heat and cold. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Gramme employed the commutator to make the current direct instead of alternating. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- For some years it was not found feasible to operate motors on alternating-current circuits, and that reason was often urged against it seriously. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Long periods of slowness and stagnation have alternated with shorter or longer periods of prolific growth, and these with seasons of slumber and repression. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Phases of spreading and intermixture have probably alternated with phases of settlement and specialization in the history of mankind. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- For phases of vigorous proselytism alternated with phases of exclusive jealousy in Jewish history. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The current obtained from such a dynamo alternates in direction, flowing first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
Typist: Psyche