alternator
noun
alternator is spelled A-L-T-E-R-N-A-T-O-R: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, alternator means “An electric generator which produces alternating current through mechanical means” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of alternator is alternators.
How many letters and syllables are in alternator?
| Letters | 10: A-L-T-E-R-N-A-T-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is alternator?
Alternator appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce alternator?
Alternator has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-alternator.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of alternator
- alternators plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alternator mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An electric generator which produces alternating current through mechanical means.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Alternator in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an electric generator which produces alternating current:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | alternateur |
| German | Lichtmaschine, Wechselstromgenerator |
| Portuguese | alternador |
| Spanish | alternador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does alternator come from?
From alternate + -or.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).