alpha

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alpha^¹

/ˈæl.fə/ US, UK
[ˈæɫ.fə] US, UK
/ˈæːl.fɑː/ India
/ˈɑːl.fɑː/ India
/ˈəl.fɑː/ India

Rhymes with -ælfə

Where it comes from

From the Ancient Greek ἄλφα (álpha), the first letter of the Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”). Doublet of alif and aleph.

noun alphas

countable, uncountable The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.
countable, uncountable Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ).
countable, uncountable The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix. I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.
countable, uncountable The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk. Similarly, alphas are 2.33% larger than that of the equivalent monthly alphas using compounded returns while no changes can be found using arithmetic returns.
countable, uncountable A person, especially a male, who is dominant, successful and attractive; (see alpha male). Being a beta male in a species with alphas doesn't mean you have to sit out the mating game.
abbreviation, clipping, countable, informal, uncountable Clipping of alphabet
countable, uncountable The first versions of a program, usually only available to the developer, and only tested by the developer. We will assume you got the .tgz version—later 2.x series versions such as 2.5.2 or 2.6.0 should be okay, provided they are production releases (not alphas, betas, or release candidates).
countable, uncountable An angle of attack.
countable, uncountable The level of translucency of a color, as determined by the alpha channel.
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of alpha layer
countable, uncountable The significance level of a statistical test; the alpha level.
countable, slang, uncountable In omegaverse fiction, a person of a dominant secondary sex driven by biology, magic, or other means to bond with an omega, with males of this type often having canine-like genitalia. Sometimes the alphas and omegas are rare, sometimes they are only males, sometimes they have altered sex organs.
countable, uncountable Alternative letter-case form of Alpha (“member of Generation Alpha”). Some of these old standards will feel alien to zoomers and alphas.

adjective

not comparable Designates the first in an order of precedence. I am the alpha male.
not comparable, of person Exhibiting characteristics of the alpha male/female archetype. And thank you. Seriously. I'll call you later. You better. I'm feeling pretty alpha now. Yes, you are.
not comparable Designates some bright star, usually the brightest star, of a constellation. When interstellar travel becomes feasible, I plan to visit Alpha Centauri.
abbreviation, clipping, not comparable Clipping of alphabetical Sort the list in alpha order.

Alpha^²

proper noun

A ghost town in California, United States (USA).
A village in Illinois, United States.
A village in Michigan, United States.
A city and village in Minnesota, United States.
A borough of New Jersey, United States.
A town in Queensland, Australia.
Former name of the International Space Station.
A RISC CPU instruction set architecture developed and marketed by Digital Equipment Corporation (then later by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard) from 1992 until 2004.

noun Alphas

Alternative letter-case form of alpha
A member of Generation Alpha. They are being partially replaced by a new generation – the Alphas, which cover children aged nine or under and account for 12 per cent of all Australians.
Similar: Gen Alpha, Generation Alpha

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: important, of import, alphabet, alphabetical, alphabetic, alphanumeric, alphabetically, letter, literacy, coefficient, principle, be-all, beginning, alfa, piper, nope

Translations

Every language

noun name of the letter Α, α

Español	alfa
한국어	알파 alpa
日本語	アルファ arufa
中文	阿爾法 /阿尔法 ā'ěrfǎ, 阿伐 āfá, 阿拉法 ālāfǎ, 阿耳法 ā'ěrfǎ
हिन्दी	अल्फ़ा alfā
Português	alfa
Français	alpha
Deutsch	Alpha
Italiano	alfa
Ελληνικά	άλφα álfa
Română	alfa
Русский	а́льфа álʹfa
العربية	أَلْفَا ʔalfā
עברית	אַלְפָא álfa

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MLA

"alpha." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/alpha. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

alpha. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/alpha

Chicago

"alpha." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/alpha.

BibTeX

@misc{alpha_2026,
  title = {alpha},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/alpha},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}