Alert
//əˈlɜːt// adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An alarm.
- 2 an automatic signal (usually a sound) warning of danger wordnet
- 3 A notification of higher importance than an advisory.
- 4 a warning serves to make you more alert to danger wordnet
- 5 A state of readiness for potential combat.
"an airborne alert; ground alert"
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- 6 condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action wordnet
- 7 Synonym of bell (“bell character”).
Verb
- 1 To give warning to.
- 2 warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a state of preparedness wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Attentive; awake; on guard.
- 2 brisk; nimble; moving with celerity. obsolete
"I saw an alert young fellow that cocked his hat upon a friend of his who entered just at the same time with myself"
Adjective
- 1 engaged in or accustomed to close observation wordnet
- 2 mentally perceptive and responsive wordnet
- 3 quick and energetic wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada; the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world.
- 2 An alternative name for Alharod, a village in Varzaqan County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
- 3 An unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Decatur County, Indiana, United States.
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"You should be alert to the possible dangers."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From French alerte (“alert”), from the phrase à l'erte (“on the watch”), from Italian all'erta (“to the height”), from erta (“lookout, tower”).
Etymology 2
Formed within English by conversion, from alert (adjective). Compare French alerter.
Etymology 3
After HMS Alert
Related phrases
More for "alert"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.