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• or
  or

  conjunction

  (used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives).
• OR
  OR

  noun

  a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when either or both operands are positive.
• -or
  -or

  a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, directly or through Anglo-French, usually denoting a condition or property of things or persons (ardor; honor; horror; liquor; pallor; squalor; torpor; tremor ), sometimes corresponding to qualitative adjectives ending in -id4 (horrid; pallid; squalid; torpid ). A few other words that originally ended in different suffixes have been assimilated to this group (behavior; demeanor; glamour ).
• O.R.
  O.R.

  abbreviation

  owner's risk.

or

¹ American  

[awr, er] / ɔr, ər /

conjunction

1. (used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives).

   books or magazines; to be or not to be.

2. (used to connect alternative terms for the same thing).

   the Hawaiian, or Sandwich, Islands.

3. (used in correlation).

   either … or; or … or; whether … or.

4. (used to correct or rephrase what was previously said).

   His autobiography, or rather memoirs, will soon be ready for publication.

5. otherwise; or else.

   Be here on time, or we'll leave without you.

6. Logic. the connective used in disjunction.

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or ² American  

[awr] / ɔr /

preposition

Chiefly Irish, Scot., and English.

1. before; ere.

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or ³ American  

[awr] / ɔr /

noun

1. the tincture, or metal, gold: represented either by gold or by yellow.

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adjective

1. of the tincture, or metal, gold.

   a lion or.

OR ⁴ American  

[awr] / ɔr /

noun

1. a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when either or both operands are positive.

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OR ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Law. on (one's own) recognizance.

2. operating room.

3. operations research.

4. Oregon (approved especially for use with zip code).

5. owner's risk.

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-or ⁶ American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, directly or through Anglo-French, usually denoting a condition or property of things or persons (ardor; honor; horror; liquor; pallor; squalor; torpor; tremor ), sometimes corresponding to qualitative adjectives ending in -id4 (horrid; pallid; squalid; torpid ). A few other words that originally ended in different suffixes have been assimilated to this group (behavior; demeanor; glamour ).

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-or ⁷ American  

1. a suffix forming animate or inanimate agent nouns, occurring originally in loanwords from Anglo-French (debtor; lessor; tailor; traitor ); it now functions in English as an orthographic variant of -er, usually joined to bases of Latin origin, in imitation of borrowed Latin words containing the suffix -tor (and its alternant-sor ). The association with Latinate vocabulary may impart a learned look to the resultant formations, which often denote machines or other less tangible entities which behave in an agentlike way: descriptor; plexor; projector; repressor; sensor; tractor .

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O.R. ⁸ American  

abbreviation

1. owner's risk.

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or ¹ British  

/ ə, ɔː /

conjunction

1. used to join alternatives

   apples or pears

   apples or pears or cheese

   apples, pears, or cheese

2. used to join rephrasings of the same thing

   to serve in the army, or rather to fight in the army

   twelve, or a dozen

3. used to join two alternatives when the first is preceded by either or whether

   whether it rains or not we'll be there

   either yes or no

4. a few

5. See else

6. a poetic word for either or whether as the first element in correlatives, with or also preceding the second alternative

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OR ² British  

abbreviation

1. operations research

2. Oregon

3. military other ranks

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-or ³ British  

suffix

1. indicating state, condition, or activity

   terror

   error

2. the US spelling of -our

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or ⁴ British  

/ ɔː /

conjunction

1. (subordinating; foll by ever or ere) before; when

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preposition

1. before

-or ⁵ British  

suffix

1. a person or thing that does what is expressed by the verb

   actor

   conductor

   generator

   sailor

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or ⁶ British  

/ ɔː /

adjective

1. (usually postpositive) heraldry of the metal gold

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Spelling

While the -or spelling of the suffix -or1 is characteristic of American English, there are occasional exceptions, as in advertising copy, where spellings such as colour and favour seek to suggest the allure and exclusiveness of a product. The spelling glamour is somewhat more common than glamor —not actually an instance of -or1, but conformed to it orthographically in the course of the word's history. In British English -our is still the spelling in most widespread use, -or being commonly retained when certain suffixes are added, as in color ation, honor ary, honor ific, labor ious, odor iferous. The English of the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) tends to mirror British practice, whereas Canadian English shares with the U.S. a preference for -or but with -our spellings as freely used variants. The suffix -or2 is now spelled -or in all forms of English, with the exception of the word savior, often spelled saviour in the U.S. as well as in Britain, especially with reference to Jesus.

Usage

See and/or, either.

Etymology

Origin of or¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, originally the second, unstressed member of correlative other … or, earlier other … other, Old English āther … oththe, ā-hwæther … oththe, for oththe … oththe either … or; cf. ay ¹, whether

Origin of or²

First recorded before 950; Middle English er, ar, or, Old English ār “before, soon, early”; cognate with Old Norse ār “early, anciently, of yore,” Gothic air “soon, early”; compare Old English ǣr “before, soon”; see ere

Origin of or³

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin aurum “gold”

Origin of OR⁴

1940–45

Origin of -or⁶

From Latin; in some cases continuing Middle English -our, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin -ōr-, stem of -or, earlier -os

Origin of -or⁷

Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French -o ( u ) r < Latin -ōr-, stem of -or, extracted from -tōr -tor by construing the t as the ending of the past participle (hence Latin factor maker, equivalent to fac ( ere ) to make + -tor, was analyzed as fact ( us ), past participle of facere + -or ); merged with Anglo-French, Old French -ëo ( u ) r < Latin -ātōr- -ator; cf. -eur

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

or OR -or O.R.

As a result, most of the light entering one end can reach the other without being absorbed, scattered, or otherwise lost.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

ByteDance in response said it was taking steps to strengthen its safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of IP or likeness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The domestic emoluments clause provides for the president to receive a fixed salary and bars him from receiving “Any other emolument from the United States or any of them.”

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

At first, the effort to measure losses over distances of meters or even kilometers might seem excessive for devices that fit on a small chip.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Perhaps Phineas has a low-grade bacterial infection or perhaps a brain tumor.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

This happened in Minneapolis on opening night, this happened in Los Angeles, in Portland, OR, in Atlanta, in New York City, in Chicago.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

When the snow settled, Chris Scott Thomason, of Bend, OR, had disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026

L’Oreal OR -6.32%decrease; red down pointing triangle shares dropped after the French cosmetics company reported third-quarter sales that fell short of analyst expectations on Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025

His mom was an OR nurse for 10 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2025

She glances over at the OR doors, taking a deep breath.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Ms Worrall redirects patients who come into the emergency department, sending them to a pharmacy or the GP if it is the most appropriate place -or to other areas within the hospital.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2023

Approximately 0.5% of Etsy's active sellers -or around 2,700 merchants- had their payments delayed on Friday related to SVB's collapse, according to Etsy.

From Reuters ● Mar. 13, 2023

Maurina says he knows journalists need to go back to the basics to survive -or revive - in small-town America.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 10, 2019

Greater conflict seems inevitable but which side will triumph -or even if there will be anything like a decisive victory and a new settlement - isn't clear.

From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2015

Several more hours of walking -or should I say crashing -through the woods to reach an area we'll just have to leave in the morning to hunt.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

I, for one, would line up to buy that first book written not under the name O.R.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2023

Jeremiah Watkins — I was on stage in the O.R. and there were like, eight audience members.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2022

International check-in counters stand empty after several airlines stopped flying out of South Africa because of the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, at O.R.

From Reuters ● Dec. 6, 2021

“Those O.R. nurses, many have never worked as a floor nurse,” she said.

From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2020

There is always a cold wind round that corner of the Rudolfplatz, but every officer and every O.R. turned up his coat-collar, stamped his feet and determined to stick it.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 12, 1919 by Various