life-and-death

[lahyf-uhn-deth]

adjective

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of life-and-death¹

First recorded in 1680–90

Idioms and Phrases

see matter of life and death.

Example Sentences

Pasadena Fire Capt. Trey Sorensen, who oversaw evacuations from The Terraces and other nearby senior homes, described in a podcast interview the life-and-death circumstances they faced during that evacuation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She added the fight with Stellantis represents a life-and-death moment for the country’s automotive sector, which accounts for about 120,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the Dinosaur Coast gallery, the beasts don’t just stand there: They guard their young from predators and engage in fierce life-and-death struggles.

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Smart, philosophical, at times darkly comic, the series took place at a run-down Boston hospital where, like “The Pitt,” a talented, if beleaguered, staff faced life-and-death choices for often underserved patients.

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It said the diversity of opinion within the board "is not unlike the politics of Israel itself, whose rambunctious democratic culture sees a fierce exchange of views about these excruciating life-and-death issues".

Read more on BBC