How to Use alternate in a Sentence

alternate

1 of 3 adjective
  • Alternate shades of wood formed a pattern around the window.
  • We took an alternate route because of the traffic.
  • Due to an emergency, the plane landed at an alternate airport.
  • Click here to see a list of alternate stops.
    — Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Are there alternate ways to seek help?
    — Christine Muldoon, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • Let’s talk about the whole alternate thing.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
  • People who had cars would have alternate days to get gas.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Drivers are still urged to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 27 Dec. 2025
  • Drivers were asked to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
    — Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Drivers were urged to take an alternate route around the crash.
    — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 27 May 2026
  • Drivers were urged to avoid the area and use an alternate route.
    — Kansas City Star, 4 May 2026
  • Diverse and alternate films need to have space to thrive.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026
  • Drivers are asked to find alternate routes around the area.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 June 2026
  • Drivers were urged to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
    — Garrett Behanna, CBS News, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Drivers should avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 28 May 2026
  • What about finding alternate routes for the crude that can't get shipped through the strait?
    — Camila Domonoske, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Drivers are urged to find an alternate route.
    — S.e. Jenkins, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Drivers were urged to take an alternate route.
    — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 8 May 2026
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 June 2026
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 8 June 2026
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 16 June 2026
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 18 May 2026
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 1 June 2026
  • But that was an alternate timeline, a path that did not exist.
    — Thomas Lake, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024
  • What’s an alternate title for your show?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 May 2026
  • Motorists are being asked to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
    — Jason Green, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Drivers should seek an alternate route while the highway is closed.
    — Mary Ella Hastings june 16, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 June 2026
  • Ships have been forced to lighten their load or find alternate routes in light of the constraints.
    — Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Motorists are advised to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
    — Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 17 Feb. 2026
  • But that is an alternate universe.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025

alternate

2 of 3 verb
  • The poem alternates fear and hope.
  • The light and dark woods alternate to form an elegant pattern around the window.
  • The two would alternate the awards over the next few years.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
  • In fact, the truths seem to alternate by play.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2025
  • The oval-like leaves have smooth edges and alternate along the branch.
    — Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Aug. 2023
  • Then step up and down, alternating arms and legs.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Each sled holds two guests who can alternate driving.
    — Sara Hansen, Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The third group had to go back and forth alternating time with the group and time alone.
    — Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Share the kids, share the home (in alternating shifts) and be grownups about the whole thing.
    — John Anderson, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023
  • Downs is great at alternating his speed and pace throughout the route stem.
    — Evan Frank, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Apr. 2023
  • To create a bit more of a mix-and-match feel, alternate the accent nails.
    — Omenaa Boakye, InStyle, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Some people use both feet to alternate between the gas and brakes.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Jurors wore masks and sat in alternating chairs spaced three feet apart.
    — H. Claire Brown, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Spend your rest day alternating between the hot tub, sauna, and its two pools.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Use a fork to gently press alternating marks on the top of the cookie.
    — Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Each member of the team will take two laps on the course, in alternating order.
    — Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • The guidelines call for a design of alternating red and white stripes with a blue field for the stars.
    — Eric Shawn, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • From there, Denver alternates between home and away for the first week.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Aug. 2025
  • The home team then alternates on the last three potential duels.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Draw the knife across the steel, alternating sides about 5-10 times.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 29 Dec. 2025
  • And in our car, whoever is in the front seat gets to play the music, and that alternates day-to-day.
    — Marah Eakin, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
  • The lights are strung in an alternating pink and red pattern and can be used inside or outside.
    — Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 30 Jan. 2024
  • But pressing the tines of a fork in an alternating cross pattern helps press the cookies out a bit.
    — Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Try planting the two in alternating rows.
    — Heather Bien, Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The names alternate between male and female.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
  • The book weaves through two alternating timelines.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
  • And Yu Darvish has alternated good and bad games over his past seven starts.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Back then, the poles alternated warming, so melting from one ice sheet was buffered by the other.
    — Frank Hulley-Jones, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The two have become close friends, alternating between good cop and bad cop with Nik.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Next, lay the pinecones on top of the garland, alternating setting them upright and on their sides.
    — Kaylei Fear, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Nov. 2023

alternate

3 of 3 noun
  • The town has elected five councilors and two alternates.
  • Stafford was added to the game as the fourth alternate that year.
    — Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 31 Jan. 2023
  • And that was giving the alternate a lot to think about.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Up front were three judges, six jurors, and six alternates.
    — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The alternates are three men and one woman.
    — Tania Francois, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026
  • This is your first time ever that two alternates got into the game last minute.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Three of four Olympic alternates also trained in the state.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
  • She was named an alternate to the Olympic team but didn’t get a chance to compete.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Feb. 2026
  • At 22, she was passed over for an Olympic spot, named an alternate.
    — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Maye played in the Pro Bowl games last season as an alternate.
    — Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
  • The alternates return the spikes to the jerseys, albeit with a bit of a twist.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026
  • The first server of a match begins on the right side and alternates from left to right each time a point is scored.
    — Dallas News, 30 June 2023
  • Brooks can still get added to the Pro Bowl roster as an alternate.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
  • It will be comprised of six jurors, three men and three women, as well as two alternates.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023
  • The alternates include three men and one woman, and one of the men is Black.
    — David Fischer, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
  • The show films five episodes a day with a couple of alternates in case a contestant has to bow out last minute.
    — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025
  • As the video alternates between two camera angles, the man’s scale shifts, as does the size of the iris.
    — Daniel R. Quiles, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The judge said the trial will have 12 jurors and three alternates.
    — Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2025
  • There was never a question or a doubt about changing it or going with an alternate.
    — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2022
  • The reason was not made public, and the juror was replaced with an alternate.
    — Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2023
  • The full jury, with one alternate, now appears to be comprised of eight men and five women.
    — John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Corio, in turn, alternates between covering her mouth with her hands and smiling at her mom.
    — Madison Feller, ELLE, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Twelve jurors were chosen — seven men and five women — along with four alternates, all men.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Name alternates, in case the initial agent is unable or unwilling, to serve.
    — Matthew Erskine, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Six of them will deliberate, while the others will serve as alternates.
    — Melissa Chan, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2024
  • Douglas, who has yet to fly in space, was an alternate for the Artemis II crew.
    — Margaret Landis, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
  • And the impact from alternates is not just from Jason and MC.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Two of the 14 jurors seated are alternates.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Ebel even alternates between hockey and baseball metaphors.
    — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 4 May 2026
  • This list exclusively features alternates and not the teams’ new home and away jerseys.
    — The Athletic Nhl Staff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alternate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: