either-or

[ ee-ther-awr, ahy-ther- ]

adjective
  1. allowing no equivocation; being limited in choice to two options: It's an either-or situation—you pay the bill or you lose the company's services.

Origin of either-or

1
First recorded in 1925–30

Words Nearby either-or

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use either-or in a sentence

  • In any event, the "either-or-ness" has been most unfortunate in its consequences.

    Nine O'Clock Talks | Frederic B. Kellogg
  • When "either-or" is used in the reproduction of dreams, it is, as I have already mentioned, to be replaced by "and."

    Dream Psychology | Sigmund Freud
  • The dream never utters the alternative "either-or," but accepts both as having equal rights in the same connection.

    Dream Psychology | Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for either-or

either-or

adjective
  1. presenting an unavoidable need to choose between two alternatives: an either-or situation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012