alts

Meanings

1. 1nounpluralslangcomputing

   Plural of alt: extra accounts or characters that a person runs in addition to their main one in games or on social media.

   Grammar: Plural countable noun: he has several alts.

   Patterns

   • make an alt
   • play on an alt

   Players often create alts to try different character classes.

   She runs two alts so she can post privately.

   The server banned him and all his alts.

2. 2nounpluralinformal

   Short for alternative: other versions of something, such as substitute players, alternate takes or lesser-known cryptocurrencies.

   Grammar: Informal plural; meaning depends on context, such as altcoins.

   Investors moved money from bitcoin into alts.

   The film studio released several alts of the poster.

Word forms

Common combinations

create alts

People create alts to hide their identity.

alt accounts

Alt accounts are banned in some games.

main and alts

He levels his main and his alts at once.

play alts

I only play alts on weekends.

Synonyms and how they differ

second accounts

Second accounts is plainer and applies mainly to social media, whereas alts is slang and also used in games.

secondary characters

Secondary characters describes the role, but alts specifically means extra characters belonging to one player.

burner accounts

Burner accounts are made to be thrown away, while alts are usually kept going.

Opposites

Word family

alt noun

a single extra account or character

alternative noun

the full word that alt shortens

altcoin noun

a cryptocurrency other than bitcoin

Commonly confused: alts or alts vs mains?

Practice

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