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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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
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. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for life-and-death
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.