Alternate Definition
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Click a letter to alternate
To switch between; every other one
A zebra's stripes: black, white, black, white. A checkerboard: dark, light, dark, light. These patterns alternate—they switch back and forth between two things in regular turns.
Alternate comes from Latin alternare (to do by turns). The pattern is always: one, then the other, then back again.
Visual examples of alternating patterns and sequences

Zebra stripes alternate—black, white, black, white—in perfect rhythm.

A checkerboard has alternating colors—no two same colors touch.

Bricks alternate their position row by row, creating a stronger wall.

Working alternate days means every other day—one on, one off.
Test your understanding of alternate in context
Which shows an alternating pattern?