or what

Idioms  

1. A phrase following a statement that adds emphasis or suggests an option. For example, in Is this a good movie or what? the phrase asks for confirmation or agreement. However, it also may ask for an alternative, as in Is this book a biography or what? In the 1700s it generally asked for a choice among a series of options, and it still has this function, as in In what does John excel? in imagination? in reasoning powers? in mathematics? or what?

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

or what

Three years into the AI trade, Wall Street is no closer to agreeing about whether it’s a bubble, how much longer it can keep going or what might ultimately end it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Yet Wall Street is no closer to agreeing about whether it’s a bubble, how much longer it can keep going or what might ultimately end it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

Irrespective of how good England can look or what approach they take, this appears to be an ongoing issue.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

But what really made Platner appealing to Moraff and Fan didn’t have anything to do with the kind of person he was or what was, or wasn’t, on his résumé.

From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026

They still have no idea where they are headed or what they are doing there, only that they’re involved in some sort of cultural military organization.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly