Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Espousing or reflecting values different from those of the establishment or of mainstream culture. Often used in combination.
  • adjective Existing outside traditional or established institutions or systems. Often used in combination.
  • adjective Pitched in the first octave above the treble staff; high.
  • noun The first octave above the treble staff.
  • noun A note or tone in the alt octave.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In music, an abbreviation of alto, high: much used in compound words, as alt-horn, alt-clarinet.
  • An abbreviation of altitude.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • (Mus.) The higher part of the scale. See alto.
  • to be in an exalted state of mind.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • abbreviation Alternative.
  • abbreviation knitting Alternate.
  • abbreviation Altitude.
  • abbreviation Alto.
  • abbreviation A state of excitement, conveyed by a high pitched voice.
  • noun Internet One of a player's alternate or secondary characters.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for alternative.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin altus, high; see al- in Indo-European roots.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word alt.

Examples

  • I had written about using an attribute substring selector to bind a style to an element using its alt text.div. promo-main img [alt* = "Cover"] {z-index: 2; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0;} div. promo-main img [alt* = "Disc"] {z-index: 1; position: absolute; top: 70px; left: 85px;}

    For A Beautiful Web 2009

  • I had written about using an attribute substring selector to bind a style to an element using its alt text.div. promo-main img [alt* = "Cover"] {z-index: 2; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0;} div. promo-main img [alt* = "Disc"] {z-index: 1; position: absolute; top: 70px; left: 85px;}

    Stuff and Nonsense 2009

  • * @param string $alt Optional language string for alt tag within image, can be a language key or text

    phpBB.com 2010

  • * @param string $alt Optional language string for alt tag within image, can be a language key or text

    phpBB.com Hottybottie 2010

  • * @param string $alt Optional language string for alt tag within image, can be a language key or text

    phpBB.com 2010

  • "In a way, [the term alt-country] is insultingly reductive," he says, "but I guess if I had to live in one of those ghettos, I would choose that, rather than angry modern rock full of pointy guitars and eyeliner."

    Houston Press | Complete Issue 2008

  • He's got a new concert series in London, which he calls alt-classical, and which he's launching April 7 in London with a live performance of his new album at the here.

    ArtsJournal: Daily Arts News 2010

  • My main alt, so to speak, is on Wyrmrest Accord, and though the quality of RP is much better there's just not enough of it.

    Howard Hughes and the 1934 World's Fair yuki_onna 2010

  • He has faith that an investment in alt-energy ($150B over 10 yrs) will create new jobs, factories, patents and entire industries, thereby leading the economy out of its malaise.

    Waxman Challenges Dingell - Swampland - TIME.com 2008

  • There he helped lay the groundwork for what became known as the alt-comedy scene a term he says he's never really understood, alongside Louis C.

    NYT > Home Page By DAN SALTZSTEIN 2011

Comments

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  • short for alternate.. as in the 'alt' key in computing.

    April 27, 2009