alternate (adj.)

  1. 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'

    alternate (n.)

  1. someone who takes the place of another person

    [ Syn: surrogate , replacement ]

    alternate (adj.)

  1. every second one of a series; the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays; jam every other day- the White Queen

  2. serving or used in place of another; an alternative plan

    [ Syn: alternative , substitute ]

  3. occurring by turns; first one and then the other; alternating feelings of love and hate

    [ Syn: alternating ]

    alternate (v.)

  1. go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions

    [ Syn: jump ]

  2. exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions

  3. be an understudy or alternate for a role

    [ Syn: understudy ]

  4. reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

    [ Syn: interchange , tack , switch , flip , flip-flop ]

  5. do something in turns; We take turns on the night shift

    [ Syn: take turns ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.