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• make-or-break
  make-or-break

  adjective

  either completely successful or utterly disastrous.
• make or break
  make or break

  Cause either total success or total ruin, as in This assignment will make or break her as a reporter. This rhyming expression, first recorded in Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (1840), has largely replaced the much older (16th-century) alliterative synonym make or mar, at least in America.

make-or-break

American  

[mayk-er-brayk] / ˈmeɪk ərˈbreɪk /

adjective

1. either completely successful or utterly disastrous.

   a make-or-break marketing policy.

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make or break Idioms  

1. Cause either total success or total ruin, as in This assignment will make or break her as a reporter. This rhyming expression, first recorded in Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (1840), has largely replaced the much older (16th-century) alliterative synonym make or mar, at least in America.

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Etymology

Origin of make-or-break

First recorded in 1915–20

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

make-or-break make or break

However, that same make-or-break standard hasn’t been applied to many of Hurts’ peers, even those who have accomplished less than Hurts.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026

And you know that make-or-break conversation you've been meaning to have about the state of your marriage - just don't do it the morning after.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

The bulk of this final season has the team dealing with this massive storm that’s created a slew of setbacks at a make-or-break moment for the restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

Every June, millions of Chinese high-schoolers take a make-or-break university entrance exam that many regard as the world’s hardest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

“You can’t forget, Clara. It’s make-or-break on our project.”

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

It is an anecdote which underlines the scale of the challenge Badenoch faced at that conference, an event her allies are now with distance willing to acknowledge was make or break for her leadership.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The goal is to maintain the rhythm of the episode while also understanding the timing that may make or break a joke for the viewer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Costco trains managers to view cashiers as specialists, experienced employees who can make or break a member’s experience by speeding lines and offering friendly conversation—or not.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

“Whether a client does conversions or not is not going to make or break the feasibility of their financial plan,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026

What a lot of people don’t realize about softball: the relationship between a pitcher and catcher can make or break a game.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

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