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or
1[ awr; unstressed er ]
conjunction
- (used to connect words, phrases, or clauses representing alternatives):
books or magazines; to be or not to be.
- (used to connect alternative terms for the same thing):
the Hawaiian, or Sandwich, Islands.
- (used in correlation):
either … or; or … or; whether … or.
- (used to correct or rephrase what was previously said):
His autobiography, or rather memoirs, will soon be ready for publication.
- otherwise; or else:
Be here on time, or we'll leave without you.
- Logic. the connective used in disjunction.
OR
2[ awr ]
noun
- a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when either or both operands are positive.
-or
3- a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, directly or through Anglo-French, usually denoting a condition or property of things or persons ( ardor; honor; horror; liquor; pallor; squalor; torpor; tremor ), sometimes corresponding to qualitative adjectives ending in -id4 ( horrid; pallid; squalid; torpid ). A few other words that originally ended in different suffixes have been assimilated to this group ( behavior; demeanor; glamour ).
OR
5abbreviation for
- Law. on (one's own) recognizance.
- operating room.
- operations research.
- Oregon (approved especially for use with zip code).
- owner's risk.
-or
6- a suffix forming animate or inanimate agent nouns, occurring originally in loanwords from Anglo-French ( debtor; lessor; tailor; traitor ); it now functions in English as an orthographic variant of -er 1, usually joined to bases of Latin origin, in imitation of borrowed Latin words containing the suffix -tor (and its alternant -sor ). The association with Latinate vocabulary may impart a learned look to the resultant formations, which often denote machines or other less tangible entities which behave in an agentlike way: descriptor; plexor; projector; repressor; sensor; tractor .
or
7[ awr ]
noun
- the tincture, or metal, gold: represented either by gold or by yellow.
adjective
- of the tincture, or metal, gold:
a lion or.
O.R.
8abbreviation for
- owner's risk.
or
1/ ɔː /
adjective
- usually postpositive heraldry of the metal gold
or
2/ ɔː /
conjunction
- subordinating; foll by ever or ere before; when
preposition
- before
or
3/ ə; ɔː /
conjunction
- used to join alternatives
apples or pears or cheese
apples, pears, or cheese
apples or pears
- used to join rephrasings of the same thing
to serve in the army, or rather to fight in the army
twelve, or a dozen
- used to join two alternatives when the first is preceded by either or whether
either yes or no
whether it rains or not we'll be there
- one or twoa few
- or elseSee else
- a poetic word for either or whether as the first element in correlatives, with or also preceding the second alternative
OR
4abbreviation for
- operations research
- Oregon
- military other ranks
-or
5suffix forming nouns
- indicating state, condition, or activity
terror
error
- the US spelling of -our
-or
6suffix forming nouns
- a person or thing that does what is expressed by the verb
conductor
actor
generator
sailor
Spelling Note
Word History and Origins
Origin of or1
Origin of or2
Origin of or3
Origin of or4
Origin of or5
Origin of or6
Word History and Origins
Origin of or1
Origin of or2
Origin of or3
Origin of or4
Example Sentences
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
Winners are solely responsible for any and all federal, state, and local taxes and/or fees that may be incurred.
Winners will be solely responsible for any and all local, state, and federal taxes, and/or fees that may be incurred.
Why aren't you as handsome and/or Canadian as Justin Bieber?
This band is different from the rock groups that go in for charismatic lighting and sing of love and/or sex.
His name was Lefty something-or-other, and he was about the sneakiest stool the department had.
Brass—or-molu—gilt platinum to give it weight; this is from Birmingham, not from Australia, nor nature.
He wuz very peart and sassy, and it was take-it-or-leave-it-and-be-plaguey- quick-about-it all the time.
Meanwhile the whale had made what appeared to be a grand and final neck-or-nothing rush in the direction of the shore.
Amatory, am′at-or-i, adj. relating to or causing love: affectionate.
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