alternate with (someone)
To share a role or task with another person. Because you're co-hosts of the talent show, you need to alternate with each other. For instance, one of you could give the introductions while the other intersperses some jokes. We are going to alternate with the lead and the understudy at today's rehearsal. A: "Is there time for both of us to speak at the assembly?" B: "Sure, I'll just make a note that we're alternating between the student council president and the vice president."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
alternate with something
1. [for someone] to serve as a substitute for someone. I alternated with Fred as the lead in the school play. They asked Harry to alternate with Ron on the team.
2. [for something] to appear repetitively and regularly in a sequence with something else. (For instance, A alternates with B in the sequence ABABAB.) In this design the straight lines alternate with the circles. The red dots alternate with the blue ones.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.