either-or
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of either-or
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
I'm not one of those either-or people, but I can make a stronger case that we have our own homegrown traditions of reaction and authoritarianism that we need to take seriously.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025
“This is not an either-or situation,” Anenberg says.
From Scientific American • Sep. 22, 2023
Gonzalez, whose group seeks to safeguard the wages and working conditions of apparel workers, resisted the notion of housing and jobs as an either-or proposition.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2023
“A Catholic cannot think either-or and reduce everything to polarization. The essence of what is Catholic is both-and,” he said.
From Washington Times • Nov. 28, 2022
Posing the question in that either-or form misses the point.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
