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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  

[meyk-er-breyk] / 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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

make-or-break make or break

The R2 has been described to me as a make-or-break product with huge mainstream potential.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 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

Ada is facing a make-or-break debut and struggling with a homesickness that seems to outweigh her desire to model.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 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

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

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

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

Popularity can make or break a career in show business.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Although Epshteyn has no official government role, his access to the president positions him as somebody who could make or break a career, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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

The guy who’s going to make or break their night.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz