all-or-nothing
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of all-or-nothing
First recorded in 1755–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather than having an all-or-nothing change in beneficiaries, it’s wiser to have a more balanced approach, one that you and your husband can review every year, or so.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
He kept the U.S. out of any major war and developed a nuclear strategy that evolved from “massive retaliation” to a policy that recognized how an all-or-nothing approach to thermonuclear weapons would be too dangerous.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
But the United States is deploying a blunt, all-or-nothing approach.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
“I think with Elon, it’s kind of this all-or-nothing thing,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
And the process was an all-or-nothing one; either you failed to modify at all, or else you modified the whole way.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
