Alternate or alternative?
alternate is an adjective meaning “Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place…”; alternative is an adjective meaning “Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) alternative is about 4.0 times as common as alternate.
What is the difference between alternate and alternative?
| alternate | alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, verb | adjective, noun |
| Meaning | Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly) Alternating; (of e.g. a pair of tinctures which a charge is coloured) succeeding in turns, or (relative to the field) counterchanged That which alternates with something else; vicissitude | Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities Presenting two or more alternatives A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities |
| Example | the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc | an alternative proposition |
| Pronunciation | /ɒlˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/ /ɔːlˈtɜː(ɹ).nət/ /ˈɔl.tɚ.nət/ | /ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ /ɔːlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/ /ɔlˈtɝ.nə.tɪv/ |
| In writing | 13 times per million words | 51 times per million words |
Sources: alternate and alternative in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of alternate and alternative
alternate
- 1
Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly)
- 2
That which alternates with something else; vicissitude
- 3
To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly
- 4
Alternating; (of e.g. a pair of tinctures which a charge is coloured) succeeding in turns, or (relative to the field) counterchanged
- 5
USA substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty
An alternate for the first-string quarterback played the entire first half
- 6
To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with
The flood and ebb tides alternate with each other
- 7
Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second
the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc
- 8
A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means
alternative
- 1
Relating to a choice between two or more possibilities
an alternative proposition
- 2
A situation which allows a mutually exclusive choice between two or more possibilities; a choice between two or more possibilities
I gave you the alternative; you decided to stay
- 3
Presenting two or more alternatives
alternative conjunctions like or
- 4
One of several mutually exclusive things which can be chosen
- 5
Other; different from something else
- 6
The remaining option; something available after other possibilities have been exhausted
- 7
Not traditional, outside the mainstream, underground
alternative medicine; alternative lifestyle; alternative rock
- 8
alternative rock
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, alternate or alternative?
alternate appears 13 times per million words; alternative 51 times per million words.
alternate 13 times per million wordsalternative 51 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search alternate vs alternative?
“alternate vs alternative” is searched about 3,600 times a month on Google and 270 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“alternative vs alternate”, “alternate or alternative”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.