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

Writing things down this way gives you a clearer sense of what you actually have on hand—not what you think you have, or what you vaguely remember buying in a moment of optimism.

From Salon

“It was comforting, we didn’t have to focus on the fire or what was lost, the music gave us a moment to reflect on life, and it became a saving grace,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

You typically have to have either wiretaps or recording in the rooms, or what appears to be the case here is a witness who is cooperating.

From Slate

"It was hitting a low, and that was affecting me creatively because I started trying to make what I thought people wanted to hear, or what I thought would do well, and it wasn't working. That never works," he says.

From BBC

Don’t look back with regret or what ifs.

From MarketWatch