life-and-death

[lahyf-uh n-deth]

See more synonyms for life-and-death on Thesaurus.com

adjective

ending with the death or possible death of one of the participants; crucially important: The cobra was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the mongoose.

Also life-or-death.

Origin of life-and-death

First recorded in 1680–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for life and death

great, notable, preeminent, big, crucial, vital, significant, radical, serious, main, principal, acute, insistent, demanding, compelling, imperative, immediate, dire, critical, necessary

Idioms and Phrases with life and death

life and death

see matter of life and death.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.