or what

Idioms  

1. A phrase following a statement that adds emphasis or suggests an option. For example, in Is this a good movie or what? the phrase asks for confirmation or agreement. However, it also may ask for an alternative, as in Is this book a biography or what? In the 1700s it generally asked for a choice among a series of options, and it still has this function, as in In what does John excel? in imagination? in reasoning powers? in mathematics? or what?

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

or what

AI models then select the measurements they need and use them to estimate what the plasma is currently doing or what it is likely to do next.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

We don’t know if the prosecution will re-try Clancy, or what will happen next.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

But he has received no confirmation of who made it across - or what happened to them afterwards.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

“Ask what’s driving the move and whether the fundamentals justify it. If you can’t explain why something is going up, or what could make it stop, you probably shouldn’t be rushing in.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

She didn’t know him or what he’d been through.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova