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

"There's nothing wrong with saying what your goal is or what you want to get out of this interaction."

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

But he said little at his first two meetings about how he read the economy or what would move him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

"It's not about words. What I will tell him or what he wants to tell me, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Matters only result. Result matters. That's it."

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

“Is this just a one-time event, or what we would call ‘normal?’” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Okay, well, why don’t you start by telling me who or what you’re looking for, and we can go from there.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy