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alternate

/ɒl.ˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/adjective · noun · verb

Alternate can refer to someone who takes the place of another person. As a verb, alternate can mean to be an understudy or alternate for a role, exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions, or go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions.

10 meanings9 lettersScrabble 9

Length

9

Scrabble

9

WWF

11

Starts

AL

Ends

ATE

Difficulty

Hard

Dictionary

What Does “ALTERNATE” Mean?

/ɒl.ˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/

alternate has 10 documented senses across adjective, noun, verb.

Adjective

4 senses
1

every second one of a series

the cleaning lady comes on alternate Wednesdays

2

serving or used in place of another

an alternative plan

3

occurring by turns; first one and then the other

alternating feelings of love and hate

Synonyms

4

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

Noun

1 sense
1

someone who takes the place of another person

Verb

5 senses
1

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

Synonyms

2

exchange people temporarily to fulfill certain jobs and functions

3

be an understudy or alternate for a role

Synonyms

4

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

5

do something in turns

We take turns on the night shift

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

9

Vowels

4

Consonants

5

Word Intelligence

Explore the word alternate with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

every second one of a series

Length

9 letters

Starts With

A

Ends With

E

Vowels

4

Consonants

5

Letters

A, L, T, E, R, N, A, T, E

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

a
l
t
e
r
n
a
t
e

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for alternate.

ALTERNATE is a 9-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 9.
It starts with A and ends with E.
It contains 4 vowels and 5 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 44%.
It has 3 repeated letters.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABCDEFACD.
Vowel/consonant pattern: VCCVCCVCV.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using alternate in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★★★☆☆

ALTERNATE has a Scrabble score of 9. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★☆☆☆

ALTERNATE is not five letters, so it is not a standard Wordle answer, but its letter pattern can still help with word analysis.

Crossword Strategy

★★★☆☆

ALTERNATE can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 9-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★☆☆

ALTERNATE contains repeated letters, which can make anagram solving more constrained but also easier to pattern-match.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside alternate.

Unique Letters

6

Repeated Letters

3

Highest Value Letter

A

Letter Pattern

ABCDEFACD

CV Pattern

VCCVCCVCV

Vowel Share

44%

Consonant Share

56%

Bigrams

AL, LT, TE, ER, RN, NA, AT, TE

Trigrams

ALT, LTE, TER, ERN, RNA, NAT, ATE

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for alternate.

ALTERNATE is a 9-letter longer themed answer.
It starts with A and ends with E, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 4 vowels and 5 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is VCCVCCVCV.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Hard.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 9 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is VCCVCCVCV, making it relatively challenging to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 9, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with A and ends with E, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Some letters repeat, which can be useful when identifying anagrams.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to ALTERNATE by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with alternate.

Related Word Tools

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