and/or
Americanconjunction
conjunction
Usage
The combination and/or is used primarily in business and legal writing: All dwellings and/or other structures on the property are included in the contract. Because of these business and legal associations, some object to the use of this combination in general writing, where it occasionally occurs: She spends much of her leisure time entertaining and/or traveling. In such writing, either and or or is usually adequate. If a greater distinction is needed, another phrasing is available: Would you like cream or sugar, or both?
Many people think that and/or is only acceptable in legal and commercial contexts. In other contexts, it is better to use or both: some alcoholics lose their jobs or their driving licences or both (not their jobs and/or their driving licences )
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.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service warned of flooding and said parked cars near the waterfront “will likely become flooded and/or submerged.”
Here’s the bottom line: Most states that carry an inheritance tax exempt spouses and, relevant in your case, children, and/or they provide generous credits.
From MarketWatch
Second, did they wilfully neglect to perform their duty and/or wilfully misconduct themselves?
From BBC
In a statement, FIS told BBC Sport: "For athletes who choose to compete in multiple disciplines and/or multiple events, conflicts can sometimes be inevitable."
From BBC
That’s manipulative and, given that you are now divorced, this seems like another way to have a financial and/or emotional hold over you.
From MarketWatch
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.