alt

\alt\

/\alt\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“alt” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #15,561 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#15,561
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Vieux, vieille, âgé, âgée.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alt vs au
33% similar
alt vs As
0% similar
alt vs an
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alt
PropertyValue
Headwordalt
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\alt\
Letters3
Frequency rank#15,561
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alt” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). alt lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for alt is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \alt\. Corpus data places it at rank #15,561 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for alt in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "au", "As", "an", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is alt, spelled A-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vieux, vieille, âgé, âgée.
  2. 2
    Ancien, classique, antique.
  3. 3
    Usagé, usagée.
  4. 4
    Vieux, de longue date, ancien.
  5. 5
    indique l’âge, après les données chiffrées:.
  6. 6
    Dépassé, périmé, désuet.
  7. 7
    De la période précédente.
  8. 8
    Éprouvé.
  9. 9
    ŕenforce une attribution négative et exprime le dégoût:.
  10. 10
    Précieux dû à son âge.
  11. 11
    Vénérable.
  12. 12
    Ancien, précédent, ex-.
  13. 13
    Préalable, antérieur, précédent.
  14. 14
    Tocard, tocarde, renforce une désignation négative.
  15. 15
    Vieux, renforce une désignation amicale.

Synonyms

betagtgreis

Antonyms

jungneuzeitlos

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alt"?
"alt" is spelled A-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is \alt\.
What does "alt" mean?
As an adjective, "alt" means: Vieux, vieille, âgé, âgée.
What words are commonly confused with "alt"?
"alt" is commonly confused with "au", "As", "an". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alt" is \alt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "alt" come from?
"alt" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “alt”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \alt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “au” - see the side-by-side comparison. alt vs au
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list