The meaning of Alternative

verb

Occur in turn repeatedly.

Usage examples:

Bouts of depression alternate with periods of elation

adjective

Every other; every second.

Usage examples:

She was asked to attend on alternate days

noun

Another term for alternative.

Usage examples:

A novel set in an alternate universe

determiner

Used to refer to an additional person or thing of the same type as one already mentioned or known about; one more; a further.

Usage examples:

Have another drink

pronoun

An additional person or thing of the same type as one already mentioned or known about.

Usage examples:

The british poet philip larkin is another of his favourite writers

Any of various alternatives; some other

adjective

Providing supplementary or additional help and support.

Usage examples:

Auxiliary airport staff

noun

An auxiliary person or thing.

Usage examples:

A nursing auxiliary

adjective

Giving help or support, esp. to a more important person or thing

Usage examples:

The hospital has an auxiliary power supply in case of a power failure.

idiom

Radically new or original

noun

New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature.

Usage examples:

He has been called a promoter of the avant-garde

adjective

Favouring or introducing new and experimental ideas and methods.

Usage examples:

A controversial avant-garde composer

noun

Help or support.

Usage examples:

No police backup could be expected

noun

Support or help, or someone or something that provides support or help

Usage examples:

A backup generator, they didn’t realize when they hired him that he had a backup band., we want to …

noun

A person, plan, piece of equipment, etc. that you can use to replace another if necessary

Usage examples:

I use my other email account as a backup., the company is exploring alternative sources to provide …

noun

An act of choosing between two or more possibilities.

Usage examples:

The choice between good and evil

adjective

(especially of food) of very good quality.

Usage examples:

He picked some choice early plums

noun

An act of choosing; a decision

Usage examples:

[ c ] a difficult/easy choice, [ c ] when you’re trying to cut the budget deficit, you’ve got to ma…

verb

Put something on top of or in front of (something), especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

The table had been covered with a checked tablecloth

noun

A thing which lies on, over, or around something, especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

A seat cover

verb

To put or spread something over something, or to lie on the surface of something

Usage examples:

Once the rice comes to a boil, turn down the flame and cover the pot., she covered the child with a…

noun

A person who is appointed to undertake the duties of a superior in the superior's absence.

Usage examples:

His deputy has been largely running the business for the past year

noun

A person who is given the power to act instead of, or to help do the work of, another person

Usage examples:

A deputy chairman, the deputy editor, a sheriff’s deputy

noun

A person whose rank is immediately below that of the head of an organization or a department, and who is in charge when the head is not there

Usage examples:

He was appointed to the paris office, serving as deputy to the bureau chief., you will be required …

adjective

Not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality.

Usage examples:

You can play this game in different ways

adjective

Not the same

Usage examples:

Monet and other impressionists painted the same scene at different times of day to discover how the…

noun

A serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.

Usage examples:

Personal alarms for use in an emergency

noun

A dangerous or serious situation, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs immediate action

Usage examples:

In an emergency, dial 911 for an ambulance.

noun

A dangerous or serious situation that happens unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results

Usage examples:

Aim to build up risk-free savings in case of emergency., the governor declared a state of emergency…

noun

An alternative plan that may be used in an emergency.

Usage examples:

Compulsory powers should be retained as a fallback

noun

A fall in the price, amount, rate, etc. of something, especially after having been high

phrasal verb

Supply with information on a specific topic

phrasal verb

To do someone else’s job temporarily

Usage examples:

The gym teacher was sick today, so a substitute filled in for her., we filled her in on all the lat…

phrasal verb

To write or type information on a document in spaces that are provided for it

Usage examples:

Companies will encourage customers to fill in questionnaires about themselves., please print off a …

adjective

Not even or balanced in shape or arrangement.

Usage examples:

His strong, irregular features

noun

A member of an irregular military force.

Usage examples:

The filipino operational center of gravity was the ability to sustain its force of 100,000 irregula…

adjective

Not regular in shape or form; having parts of different shapes or sizes

Usage examples:

An irregular surface, there are irregular spaces between the words., he showed up at irregular inte…

adjective

Produced, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time; not existing before.

Usage examples:

The new madonna album

adverb

Newly; recently.

Usage examples:

New-mown hay

adjective

Recently created or having started to exist recently

Usage examples:

His newest book will be out next month., she’s always coming up with new ideas., have you met carlo…

adjective

Not of the normal type or size

Usage examples:

The keyboard was fitted with a non-standard plug., a non-standard size of paper, growing numbers ha…

noun

A member of a protestant church which dissents from the established church of england.

Usage examples:

Originally a nonconformist, he was later converted to anglo-catholicism

adjective

Relating to nonconformists or their principles and practices.

Usage examples:

Teetotalism was a largely nonconformist movement

noun

A person who does not live and think according to accepted customs and standards

abbreviation

November.

adjective

Nearly, but not quite, in a central position

adjective

Not coinciding with the beat.

Usage examples:

A rapid tempo is essential here, otherwise we will not sense the offbeat hemiolas

noun

Any of the normally unaccented beats in a bar.

Usage examples:

The horns come in full-force on the offbeats

noun

A thing that is or may be chosen.

Usage examples:

Choose the cheapest options for supplying energy

verb

Buy or sell an option on.

Usage examples:

His second script will have been optioned by the time you read this

noun

One thing that can be chosen from a set of possibilities, or the freedom to make a choice

Usage examples:

The program helps students explore career options., he decided to exercise an option to break the t…

adjective

Present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest.

Usage examples:

The original owner of the house

noun

The earliest form of something, from which copies may be made.

Usage examples:

The portrait may be a copy of the original

noun

The first one made and not a copy

Usage examples:

Send a copy of your receipt, but keep the original., the original plans have been changed., our tea…

adjective

Denoting a person or thing that is different or distinct from one already mentioned or known about.

Usage examples:

Stick the camera on a tripod or some other means of support

pronoun

A person or thing that is different or distinct from one already mentioned or known about.

Usage examples:

A language unrelated to any other

verb

View or treat (a person or group of people) as intrinsically different from and alien to oneself.

Usage examples:

A critique of the ways in which the elderly are othered by society

verb

Present participle of pinch-hit

Usage examples:

He was pinch-hitting for one of the regular tv sportscasters, and was a great success.

adjective

Able to be done or achieved.

Usage examples:

Surely it's not possible for a man to live so long?

noun

A potential candidate for a job or team.

Usage examples:

I have marked five possibles with an asterisk

adjective

That can be done or achieved, or that can exist

Usage examples:

[ + to infinitive ] is it possible to get an earlier flight?, if possible i’d like to get there bef…

noun

The authority to represent someone else, especially in voting.

Usage examples:

Britons overseas may register to vote by proxy

noun

Authority given to someone to act for you, as by voting as your representative in an election, or the person to whom this authority is given

noun

A written document that officially gives someone the authority to do something for another person, for example by voting at a meeting for them

Usage examples:

A creditor may give a proxy to any person of full age requiring him or her to vote for or against a…

adjective

(especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.

Usage examples:

A radical overhaul of the existing regulatory framework

noun

A person who advocates thorough or complete political or social change, or a member of a political party or section of a party pursuing such aims.

Usage examples:

The party has not tried to disguise its new deregulatory approach, which is causing unease among pa…

adjective

Believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social, economic, or political change

Usage examples:

White’s political orientation was decidedly liberal, but hardly radical., during bad economic times…

noun

A feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress.

Usage examples:

Much to her relief, she saw the door open

noun

A feeling of happiness that something unpleasant has not happened or has ended

Usage examples:

She breathed a sigh of relief when she finished her exams., aspirin may give you some relief., disa…

noun

Financial help that is given to people, companies, or countries that cannot pay their taxes or debts

Usage examples:

All of the more than 3 million people who file income taxes in virginia will be eligible for the $1…

noun

The action or process of replacing someone or something.

Usage examples:

The replacement of religion by poetry

noun

A thing or person that takes the place of something or someone else

Usage examples:

A replacement for sb/sth we now use leds as replacements for conventional light bulbs., a permanent…

verb

Retain for future use.

Usage examples:

Roll out half the dough and reserve the other half

noun

A supply of a commodity not needed for immediate use but available if required.

Usage examples:

Australia has major coal, gas, and uranium reserves

noun

A place that is frequented for holidays or recreation or for a particular purpose.

Usage examples:

A seaside resort

verb

Turn to and adopt (a course of action, especially an extreme or undesirable one) so as to resolve a difficult situation.

Usage examples:

The duke was prepared to resort to force if negotiation failed

adjective

Involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.

Usage examples:

A revolutionary new drug

noun

A person who advocates or engages in political revolution.

Usage examples:

They would act like any revolutionary vanguard, as lenin or indeed the french revolutionaries had i…

verb

Formally support or endorse (a nomination or resolution or its proposer) as a necessary preliminary to adoption or further discussion.

Usage examples:

Bridgeman seconded maxwell's motion calling for the reform

noun

A sixtieth of a minute of time, which as the si unit of time is defined in terms of the natural periodicity of the radiation of a caesium-133 atom.

Usage examples:

Torrance squeezed the trigger, waited twenty five seconds and fired again.

verb

Transfer (a military officer or other official or worker) temporarily to other employment or another position.

Usage examples:

I was seconded to a public relations unit

noun

A person who takes the place or does the job of another person

Usage examples:

Critics serve as a kind of stand-in for the average person.

phrasal verb

To do something that someone else is supposed to do or usually does, because they are unable to do it

Usage examples:

Stand in for sb he stood in for his manager while she was away on maternity leave., we'll need some…

noun

Readiness for duty or immediate deployment.

Usage examples:

Buses were placed on standby for the journey to london

noun

Something available for use when needed, or the state of being ready for use

Usage examples:

I have several meals i use as standbys for unexpected company., cary also has sought to put more co…

noun

A person or thing that is available and that can be used when necessary, if another person or thing is not available, or in an emergency

Usage examples:

They manufacture portable gps systems which can be used as an emergency standby., employees at some…

noun

A person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

Usage examples:

Soya milk is used as a substitute for dairy milk

verb

Use or add in place of.

Usage examples:

Dried rosemary can be substituted for the fresh herb

verb

To use someone or something instead of another person or thing

Usage examples:

[ t ] you can substitute oil for butter in this recipe., [ i ] he was called on to substitute for t…

noun

A substitute, especially a person deputizing for another in a specific role or office.

Usage examples:

She served as a surrogate for the president on a trip to south america

adjective

Relating to the birth of a child or children by means of surrogacy.

Usage examples:

Paperwork that will allow them to move forward with the surrogate process

noun

Someone or something that replaces or is used instead of someone or something else; a substitute for another

Usage examples:

She seems to regard him as a surrogate for her father.

adjective

Out of the ordinary; unusual.

Usage examples:

Prostate cancer is not uncommon in men over 60

adverb

Remarkably.

Usage examples:

He was uncommon afraid

adjective

Failing or refusing to conform.

Usage examples:

Strange that she should turn now to her unconforming husband for advice on a social situation

adjective

Not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed.

Usage examples:

His unconventional approach to life

adjective

Contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted; not orthodox.

Usage examples:

He frequently upset other scholars with his unorthodox views

adjective

(of behavior, ideas, or methods) different from what is usual or expected

Usage examples:

He has an unorthodox teaching style.

adjective

Different from what is usual or expected in behaviour, ideas, methods, etc.

Usage examples:

Unorthodox approaches/methods/practices regulators began to scrutinize the company's unorthodox acc…

adjective

Not habitually or commonly occurring or done.

Usage examples:

It was unusual for dennis to be late

adjective

Different from what is usual or expected

Usage examples:

I was actually on time, which is unusual for me.

adjective

Unaccustomed or unusual.

Usage examples:

There was an unwonted gaiety in her manner

adjective

Unusual; not often experienced or shown

Usage examples:

He sprang to the phone with unwonted eagerness.