Question: My `PATH` variable looks like this:

```
/home/elgin/anaconda3/bin:…:/usr/bin:…

```

As you see above `anaconda3` precedes `/usr/bin`. So when I type `python` in terminal, it gets `python` in the first `anaconda3` path.

How can I tell bash terminal to load `python` in `/usr/bin/` instead of the one in `anaconda3`? Is there any argument that I can pass for doing this or I should edit `PATH` each time?

Answer: 
Simple way with `alias`:

```
alias python=/usr/bin/python

```

Please see [*In Bash, when to alias, when to script, and when to write a function?*](https://unix.stackexchange.com/q/30925/108618)
If you want to do it only once, just type

```
/usr/bin/python

```

(instead of just `python`).
If this situation comes up often, you can save typing by defining an alias.

If you want `python` to be interpreted as `/usr/bin/python`
for many commands in a row, it may be simpler to edit PATH. 
You can write a shell function to do that,
to reduce typing and reduce the risk of typographical errors.