alternate vs seesaw

alternate

verb
  • To vary by turns. 

  • To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly. 

  • To perform an alternation (removal of alternate vertices) on (a polytope or tessellation); to remove vertices (from a face or edge) as part of an alternation. 

  • To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; followed by with. 

adj
  • Other; alternative. 

  • Distributed singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence 

  • Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second. 

  • Happening by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; first one and then the other (repeatedly) 

noun
  • A substitute; an alternative; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty. 

  • A replacement of equal or greater value or function. 

  • A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means. 

  • That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. 

  • Figures or tinctures that succeed each other by turns. 

seesaw

verb
  • To fluctuate. 

  • To cause to move backward and forward in seesaw fashion. 

  • To use a seesaw. 

adj
  • fluctuating. 

noun
  • An abnormal breathing pattern caused by airway obstruction, characterized by paradoxical chest and abdominal movement. 

  • A structure composed of a plank, balanced in the middle, used as a game in which one person goes up as the other goes down. 

  • A series of up-and-down movements. 

  • A series of alternating movements or feelings. 

How often have the words alternate and seesaw occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )