either-or

American

[ee-ther-awr, ahy-ther-] / ˈi ðərˈɔr, ˈaɪ ðər- /

adjective

allowing no equivocation; being limited in choice to two options.

It's an either-or situation—you pay the bill or you lose the company's services.

either-or British

adjective

presenting an unavoidable need to choose between two alternatives

an either-or situation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of either-or

First recorded in 1925–30

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.

I think, culturally, we have this knee-jerk habit where everything is either-or.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2025

I'm not one of those either-or people, but I can make a stronger case that we have our own homegrown traditions of reaction and authoritarianism that we need to take seriously.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025

“This should never be an either-or conversation,” Reichert said in a statement.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 12, 2024

“It finally breaks the logjam around here and gets the process functioning again. It’s not an either-or choice,” Ms. Lummis said of the emergency aid for Israel and Ukraine.

From Washington Times • Oct. 31, 2023

Posing the question in that either-or form misses the point.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023