How to use alpha in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, adjective

Alpha means 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. Example: “I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.”

Examples of alpha by meaning

nounThe name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a...

I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.

nounThe 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.2001, Cheng-Few Lee, editor, Advances in Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, volume 8, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 174
To investment professionals, “alpha” is the return over and above the market return.2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN

nounA 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.2008, Faye Flam, The Score: How the Quest for Sex Has Shaped the Modern Man, Avery, published 2008, →ISBN
I'm still turned on by alpha males.2008, Mitzi Szereto, editor, The New Black Lace Book of Women's Sexual Fantasies, Black Lace, →ISBN, page 38

nounThe 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).2007, Mark Summerfield, Rapid GUI Programming with Python and Qt: The Definitive Guide to PyQt Programming, Pearson Education, →ISBN

nounIn omegaverse fiction, a person of a dominant secondary sex driven by biology, magic, or other means to bond with an...

Sometimes the alphas and omegas are rare, sometimes they are only males, sometimes they have altered sex organs.2013, Kristina Busse, “Pon Farr, Mpreg, Bonds, and the Rise of the Omegaverse”, in Anne Jamison, editor, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over...
Sherlock realizes that John, despite being an alpha, sees and loves Sherlock for who he is, "a brilliant, mad, nutter of a man," instead of only wanting him for his reproductive functions, his ability to become pregnant.2017, Marianne Gunderson, "What is an omega? Rewriting sex and gender in omegaverse fanfiction", thesis submitted to the University of...

adjectiveDesignates the first in an order of precedence.

I am the alpha male.

adjectiveDesignates some bright star, usually the brightest star, of a constellation.

When interstellar travel becomes feasible, I plan to visit Alpha Centauri.

More sentences with alpha

When alpha male podcasters and bloggers boast that “Men’s Peak SMV is Age 37”, I agree.2024 February 1, “When Men’s Dating Options Hit The Wall”, in Salt Lake Single Guy, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2024. From the entry SMV
And beta fish can't be beta fish if they are fighting to be alpha fish.2017, Lucy Loo, This Isn't a Prompt. From the entry beta fish
The Woodland pack gathered close, shouting encouragement to their alpha prime.2016, Shannon Curtis, Lycan Unleashed. From the entry lycan
So the alpha particle quantum tunnels through the mountain and "the alpha particle is out."2016, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, J. Richard Gott, Welcome to the Universe, An Astrophysical Tour, page 385. From the entry quantum tunnel
Similar to parasympathetically mediated HR-slowing, Fingolimod-related HR-slowing is reversed by atropine or mitigated by alpha 1-receptor-agonists.2015 July 6, “Central Autonomic Dysfunction Delays Recovery of Fingolimod Induced Heart Rate Slowing”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI. From the entry parasympathetically
Often omegas go into heat and release pheromones that drive alphas wild.2013, Kristina Busse, “Pon Farr, Mpreg, Bonds, and the Rise of the Omegaverse”, in Anne Jamison, editor, Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking…. From the entry omega
He said the alpha male would have money, cars, women and be silent.2010, Stewart Lee, How I Escaped My Certain Fate, page 323. From the entry heckler
The heckler was a kind of delta male, the jester to the king alpha male.2010, Stewart Lee, How I Escaped My Certain Fate, page 323. From the entry heckler
In seventeen instances, an alpha female approached a beta female while both were alone, and they mated.2009, Joan Roughgarden, Evolution’s Rainbow, →ISBN. From the entry beta female
To Diann, my alpha partner, ursophile, and tracking friend, for all her loving support and help.2008, James C. Halfpenny, Scats and Tracks of North America: A Field Guide to the Signs of Nearly 150 Wildlife Species, Falcon Guides, →ISBN. From the entry ursophile
The alpha and the beta are therefore interdependent, each in its way serving to keep instruction alive.2006, Donald Wilcox Thomas, Schoolmastery: Notes on Teaching and Learning, page 104. From the entry more sauce than meat
Zazen isn't about blissing out or going into an alpha brainwave trance.2003, Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen, page 92. From the entry zazen
Ally, the alpha cat in my household, has a severe case of catitude.2003 October 5, “Cats' Drinking: Is It Smarts Or Snobbery?”, in The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, California. From the entry catitude
“Structural alpha,” he called it, in the jargoniest jargon.2022 May 6, Mary Childs, “Was the ‘Bond King’ Great?”, in Institutional Investor, New York, N.Y., →OCLC, archived from the original on 04…. From the entry jargony
Betas are usually second in command to the reigning alpha, and omegas belong to the lowest caste of the social hierarchy.2018, Laura Campillo Arnaiz, “When the Omega Empath Met the Alpha Doctor: An Analysis of Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics in the Hannibal…. From the entry beta
From this rarefied dataset, alpha diversity was estimated in two ways using QIIME v1.8: observed species and phylodiversity.2015 October 21, “Flea-Associated Bacterial Communities across an Environmental Transect in a Plague-Endemic Region of Uganda”, in PLOS…. From the entry phylodiversity
The alpha female of troop I, with her offspring at her chest, sits next to the beta female.2013 -, Leonard A. Rosenblum, Primate Behavior: Developments in Field and Laboratory Research, →ISBN. From the entry beta female
One instance of ejaculation followed an intense grooming sequence between the alpha and delta male in troop II.2013, Leonard A. Rosenblum, Primate Behavior: Developments in Field and Laboratory Research, page 354. From the entry delta male
Nadal is supposedly the alpha male in any slugfest.2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in The Guardian. From the entry slugfest
You don't get more alpha male than this, I thought.2012, Ben Evans, Tragedy and Triumph in Orbit, page 78. From the entry alpha male
A gamma male who had stumbled into an alpha world.2012, James Craig, Never Apologise, Never Explain. From the entry gamma male
She'd always had a thing for alpha males.2010, Terry Spear, Wolf Fever, Sourcebooks Casablanca, published 2010, →ISBN, page 24. From the entry beta
Within quantdom, the question of whether alpha exists as a finite market commodity is a topic of debate.2007 January 22, Anthony Bianco, “Outsmarting The Market”, in Bloomberg, New York, N.Y.: Bloomberg L.P., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the…. From the entry quantdom
Beta without alpha provides more sauce than meat.2006, Donald Wilcox Thomas, Schoolmastery: Notes on Teaching and Learning, page 104. From the entry more sauce than meat
However, prostate cancer does not appear to occur in a cohort of pseudohermaphrodite men in whom 5-alpha reductase is absent.1996, Roger S. Kirby, Timothy J. Christmas, Michael K. Brawer, Prostate Cancer, Mosby, →ISBN, page 27. From the entry pseudohermaphrodite
"Alpha and Omega, will you look at that!"1994, Sharon Creech, Walk Two Moons, page 14. From the entry alpha and omega
The facility is a flexible, relatively simple system of enclosures for handling multicurie amounts of alpha, gamma, and neutron-emitting radioisotopes.1964, Albert V Crewe, Joseph Jacob Katz, Research, U.S.A.: knowledge for the future. From the entry multicurie
The sheets of alpha paper which have been grained are first dipped in soft acetate remaining there for three minutes.1939, Herald, volume 5. From the entry alpha paper
Another pointed out the hypocrisy in the original argument, sarcastically noting, "Amazing how all of these 'free-thinking alpha males' reach the same conclusions on everything."2024 September 2, Ellsworth Toohey, “Musk boosts 4chan claim that women are incapable of critical thinking”, in Boing Boing. From the entry sarcastically
Then I'll just aim it at their bozacks and chase 'em around for a bit; See how those fake alpha males like them apples.2022 October 1, @MLovesDemocracy, Twitter, archived from the original on 11 Dec 2023. From the entry bozack

Meaning of alpha

noun 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.
noun Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ).
noun The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix.

Full definition of alpha

Questions about alpha in a sentence

How do you use alpha in a sentence?: Alpha is used as a noun and adjective. For example: “I will attempt to make an alpha particle ("α-particle") with the Large Hadron Collider.”
What is a short sentence with alpha?: “I am the alpha male.”
What does alpha mean?: Alpha means 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.

Adapted from Wiktionary: alpha (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use alpha in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/alpha. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.