Plain English Meaning
The weather forecast at your backup airport has to be at least this good before you're allowed to list it as your alternate on an IFR flight plan.
Full Definition
The minimum weather conditions — specifically ceiling and visibility — that must be forecast at an airport for it to be legally usable as an alternate destination on an instrument flight plan. Standard alternate minimums are 600-foot ceiling and 2 statute miles visibility for a precision approach, and 800-foot ceiling and 2 statute miles visibility for a non-precision approach, unless the airport publishes non-standard alternate minimums or is marked as not authorized for use as an alternate.