alpha
Pluralalphas
Pluralalphas
- 1The first letter of the Greek alphabet, written Α or α. Our letter A grew out of it.
On the first day of Greek class, we practiced writing alpha and beta.
The sign on the sorority house showed a big gold alpha.
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- 2A person, often a man, who is successful and attractive and likes to be in charge.
Everyone at the gym thinks Marco is an alpha.
She says she is tired of dating alphas who never listen.
Oppositebeta
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- 3Acting or looking like a strong, successful person who likes to be in charge.
Jake gave the waiter an alpha handshake that almost hurt.
After winning the chess match, Nina walked around feeling alpha.
Oppositesubmissive
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- 4A very early version of a computer program, usually used and tested only by the people making it.
The game is still in alpha, so it crashes a lot.
Our team tested the alpha for two weeks before anyone else saw it.
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- 5The name of the sign α or Α in science and math, often written out in place of the sign.
The teacher called the first angle alpha and the second one beta.
A sheet of paper can stop alpha particles.
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- 6First in rank, ahead of all the others in a group.
The alpha wolf eats first, and the others wait their turn.
On our farm, the alpha hen always gets the best spot on the perch.
Similardominant
- 7Another way to write Alpha, starting with a small letter. It means a person who is part of Generation Alpha.
I'm Gen Z, but my little sister is an alpha.
Every alpha in her class grew up talking to smart speakers.
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- 8Marks a bright star in a group of stars, usually the brightest one.
Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system to our sun.
Through the telescope, Alpha Lyrae looked like a sharp blue-white point.
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- 9How much an investment earns once you take into account the risk that comes from the market as a whole.
The fund's alpha was high, so its managers got big bonuses.
A fund with no alpha just follows the market up and down.
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- 10How see-through a color is in a digital picture, set by its alpha channel.
Turn down the alpha to make the red box see-through.
Each color in the logo has its own alpha, so some parts look faded.
Similaropacity
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- 11Short form of alphabetical. Use it before a noun, as in alpha order.
Please put the books on the shelf in alpha order.
The teacher read our names from an alpha list.
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- 12In statistics, the limit used to decide if a test result is probably not just chance.
Before the study began, the researchers chose their alpha.
With a smaller alpha, a study needs stronger proof before it can claim a real effect.
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- 13Short form of alpha layer. Used when working with pictures on a computer.
Save the logo with its alpha so there is no white box around it.
This photo has no alpha, so no part of it can be made see-through.
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- 14In flying, the angle at which a plane's wing meets the air coming toward it.
If the pilot pulls the nose up too far, the alpha gets too high and the plane can fall.
A screen in the cockpit shows the plane's alpha.
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- 15In omegaverse fan stories, a person of the strong, leading type, driven by nature or magic to bond with an omega.
In her story, the hero is an alpha who must find his omega.
Some readers like stories where two alphas fall in love.
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- 16A letter of the Latin alphabet, written Ɑ as a capital and ɑ as a small letter.
In this pronunciation guide, the sound in “spa” is shown with an alpha, not an ordinary a.
Her font had no capital alpha, so the Ɑ in the name showed up as an empty box.
- 17Short form of alphabet. Used in casual talk.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of alpha apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From álpha, the name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet. It came from the Phoenician letter aleph.