alternative means

collocation in English

meaningsofalternativeandmean

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withmean.
alternative
adjective
uk
/ɒlˈtɜː.nə.tɪv/
us
/ɑːlˈtɝː.nə.t̬ɪv/
An alternative plan or method is one that you can use if you do not want to use ...
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mean
noun[S]
uk
/miːn/
us
/miːn/
mathematicsspecialized
the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number ...
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(Definition ofalternativeandmeanfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofalternative means

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
But what does thealternativemean?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Disarmament without providing soldiers with training, as well as help in finding alternative means of livelihood, leads to instability and internal crises.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Provision is necessary for alternative means of transportation so that a driving prohibition does not lead to social isolation and frustration.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The pamphlet suggests transport solutions after having stopped driving and lists sources of information about alternative means.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The alternative means of composition is a matter of philosophical choice.
From theCambridge English Corpus
When such possibilities are not available, this paper has shown an alternative means of improving the incentives to produce real emission reductions.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The effect of unsteady, aperiodic strain and rotation must be examined by alternative means.
From theCambridge English Corpus
This dilemma has led to consideration of self-help as an alternative means of meeting the needs of this population.
From theCambridge English Corpus
They advocated alternative means of resisting the anticlerical policies.
From theCambridge English Corpus
It would, for example, provide an alternative means of launching satellites.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Moreover, if alternative means are explained, they are distributed in different chapters so that the access to the information costs extra time and energy.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These songs invoke the train's mechanical force as an alternative means of relating the inherent dangers and difficulties of a migrating lifestyle.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Let us concede that the beggar has no alternative means of finding subsistence.
From theCambridge English Corpus
If we should not expect ethnohistory to provide the rigid literary documentation that history demands, then what is the alternative means of proof for ethnohistory?
From theCambridge English Corpus
The alternative means of clothing acquisition which co-existed with these commercial practices were more diffuse.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Persuasion, along with coercion and incentives, must be included among the alternative means of exerting power and influence.
From theCambridge English Corpus
However, it can be seen as potentially an alternative means of achieving what specially written graded readers have traditionally been designed to do.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Therefore, this system - which is intended to process text, not speech - has an alternative means of knowing that a sentence is interrogative.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Far more women were finding alternative means of reaching their destinations.
From theCambridge English Corpus
By early 1996, though, the treasury bond market had reached a critical mass, offering the government an alternative means of raising fast cash.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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