or else
Idioms-
Otherwise, in different circumstances, as in Present your case now, or else you won't have a chance . [c. 1300]
-
Regardless of any extenuating circumstances, no matter what, as in Be there on time or else! [Second half of 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My mother came out with me, Louis came out with me, my sister came out with me, and it was incredibly true: I had to be working or else I would die.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
That ruling requires public figures claiming defamation to prove speakers had “actual malice,” meaning they knew the statements were false or else acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Either shares of semiconductors and other AI infrastructure plays would be up, or else it would be the “Magnificent Seven” and everything else.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
However, as C.K.’s supporters love to point out, he was never charged with anything, and even he knows he’d better mind that gap or else.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
“Your friends must need you, or else Gaea would not ask for your death.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
