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life-and-death

[ lahyf-uhn-deth ]
/ ˈlaɪf ənˈdɛθ /
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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.
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Origin of life-and-death

First recorded in 1680–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use life-and-death in a sentence

Other 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.
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