alp

A1L1P3
/ælp/

noun

A very high mountain. Specifically, one of the Alps, the highest chain of mountains in Europe.

OriginLatin Alpes →
Less commonScrabble 5
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Meanings

alp1

nounalp (plural alps)

plural alps

  1. A very high mountain. Specifically, one of the Alps, the highest chain of mountains in Europe.

    Nor breath of Vernal Air from ſnowy Alp.

    1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 42, line 529
    2 more examples

    Hills peep o'er Hills, and Alps on Alps ariſe!

    1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 15

    There is a great alp of sand, one hundred metres high, between the pines and the ocean, […]

    1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
  2. An alpine meadow.

    At the alp of Khyarkuti, a wide flat at the junction of several glens[…]

    1942, Marco Pallis, Peaks and Lamas, page 54

ALP2

proper noun
  1. AustraliaabbreviationinitialismInitialism of Australian Labor Party.
nounALP (plural ALPs)

plural ALPs

  1. abbreviationinitialismbiochemistryInitialism of alkaline phosphatase.
  2. abbreviationinitialismcontract lawInitialism of arm's length principle.
  3. abbreviationinitialismparticlenatural sciencesInitialism of axion-like particle.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
arm's length principleaxion-like particlemountain

Origin

  1. LatinAlpes“high mountains, especially those of Switzerland”
  2. Englishalp

Late Middle English, back-formation from alps pl, via French from Latin Alpes (“high mountains, especially those of Switzerland”). Compare Old Saxon elbon (“Alps”), Old High German Alpūn (“Alps”); Old High German alba (“alp, mountain”)).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish alppi
  • alppivery high mountain
German Alm
  • Almvery high mountain
Portuguese alpe
  • alpevery high mountain
Swedish alp
  • alpvery high mountain

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

pallapPLAAPL
Cite this entry
APA

alp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alp

MLA

“alp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alp. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alp,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alp.

Source: alp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.