or
1[ awr; unstressed er ]
/ ɔr; unstressed ər /
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conjunction
(used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives): books or magazines; to be or not to be.
(used to connect alternative terms for the same thing): the Hawaiian, or Sandwich, Islands.
(used in correlation): either … or; or … or; whether … or.
(used to correct or rephrase what was previously said): His autobiography, or rather memoirs, will soon be ready for publication.
otherwise; or else: Be here on time, or we'll leave without you.
Logic. the connective used in disjunction.
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Origin of or
1Other definitions for or (2 of 8)
Origin of or
2First recorded before 950; Middle English er, ar, or, Old English ār “before, soon, early”; cognate with Old Norse ār “early, anciently, of yore,” Gothic air “soon, early”; compare Old English ǣr “before, soon”; see ere
Other definitions for or (3 of 8)
or3
[ awr ]
/ ɔr /
noun
the tincture, or metal, gold: represented either by gold or by yellow.
adjective
of the tincture, or metal, gold: a lion or.
Origin of or
3First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin aurum “gold”
Other definitions for or (4 of 8)
OR1
[ awr ]
/ ɔr /
noun
a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when either or both operands are positive.
Origin of OR
11940–45
Other definitions for or (5 of 8)
OR2
abbreviation
Law. on (one's own) recognizance.
operating room.
operations research.
Oregon (approved especially for use with zip code).
owner's risk.
Other definitions for or (6 of 8)
-or1
a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, directly or through Anglo-French, usually denoting a condition or property of things or persons (ardor; honor; horror; liquor; pallor; squalor; torpor; tremor), sometimes corresponding to qualitative adjectives ending in -id4 (horrid; pallid; squalid; torpid). A few other words that originally ended in different suffixes have been assimilated to this group (behavior; demeanor; glamour).
Origin of -or
1From Latin; in some cases continuing Middle English -our, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin -ōr-, stem of -or, earlier -os
usage note for -or
While the -or spelling of the suffix -or1 is characteristic of American English, there are occasional exceptions, as in advertising copy, where spellings such as colour and favour seek to suggest the allure and exclusiveness of a product. The spelling glamour is somewhat more common than glamor —not actually an instance of -or1, but conformed to it orthographically in the course of the word's history. In British English -our is still the spelling in most widespread use, -or being commonly retained when certain suffixes are added, as in color ation, honor ary, honor ific, labor ious, odor iferous. The English of the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) tends to mirror British practice, whereas Canadian English shares with the U.S. a preference for -or but with -our spellings as freely used variants.
The suffix -or2 is now spelled -or in all forms of English, with the exception of the word savior, often spelled saviour in the U.S. as well as in Britain, especially with reference to Jesus.
The suffix -or2 is now spelled -or in all forms of English, with the exception of the word savior, often spelled saviour in the U.S. as well as in Britain, especially with reference to Jesus.
Other definitions for or (7 of 8)
-or2
a suffix forming animate or inanimate agent nouns, occurring originally in loanwords from Anglo-French (debtor; lessor; tailor; traitor); it now functions in English as an orthographic variant of -er1, usually joined to bases of Latin origin, in imitation of borrowed Latin words containing the suffix -tor (and its alternant -sor). The association with Latinate vocabulary may impart a learned look to the resultant formations, which often denote machines or other less tangible entities which behave in an agentlike way: descriptor; plexor; projector; repressor; sensor; tractor.
Origin of -or
2Middle English <Anglo-French, Old French -o(u)r<Latin -ōr-, stem of -or, extracted from -tōr-tor by construing the t as the ending of the past participle (hence Latin factor maker, equivalent to fac(ere) to make + -tor, was analyzed as fact(us), past participle of facere + -or); merged with Anglo-French, Old French -ëo(u)r<Latin -ātōr--ator; cf. -eur
Other definitions for or (8 of 8)
O.R.
abbreviation
owner's risk.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use or in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for or (1 of 6)
or1
/ (ɔː, unstressed ə) /
conjunction (coordinating)
used to join alternativesapples or pears; apples or pears or cheese; apples, pears, or cheese
used to join rephrasings of the same thingto serve in the army, or rather to fight in the army; twelve, or a dozen
used to join two alternatives when the first is preceded by either or whetherwhether it rains or not we'll be there; either yes or no
one or two a few
or else See else (def. 3)
a poetic word for either or whether as the first element in correlatives, with or also preceding the second alternative
See also exclusive or, inclusive or
Word Origin for or
C13: contraction of other, used to introduce an alternative, changed (through influence of either) from Old English oththe; compare Old High German odar (German oder)
British Dictionary definitions for or (2 of 6)
or2
/ (ɔː) archaic /
conjunction
(subordinating; foll by ever or ere) before; when
preposition
before
Word Origin for or
Old English ār soon; related to Old Norse ār early, Old High German ēr
British Dictionary definitions for or (3 of 6)
or3
/ (ɔː) /
adjective
(usually postpositive) heraldry of the metal gold
Word Origin for or
C16: via French from Latin aurum gold
British Dictionary definitions for or (4 of 6)
OR
abbreviation for
operations research
Oregon
military other ranks
British Dictionary definitions for or (5 of 6)
-or1
suffix forming nouns
a person or thing that does what is expressed by the verbactor; conductor; generator; sailor
Word Origin for -or
via Old French -eur, -eor, from Latin -or or -ātor
British Dictionary definitions for or (6 of 6)
-or2
suffix forming nouns
indicating state, condition, or activityterror; error
the US spelling of -our
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