Meaning of or in English

conjunction

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strong /ɔːr/ weak /ər/ us

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strong /ɔːr/ weak /ɚ/

or conjunction (POSSIBILITIES)

used to connect different possibilities:

Is it Tuesday or Wednesday today?

You can pay now or when you come back to pick up the paint.

Are you listening to me or not?

The patent was granted in (either) 1962 or 1963 - I can't quite remember which.

It doesn't matter whether you win or lose - it's taking part that's important.

There were ten or twelve (= approximately that number of) people in the room.

He was just kidding - or was he (= but it is possible that he was not)?

used after a negative verb to mean not one thing and also not another:

The child never smiles or laughs.

Compare

nor

More examples

If the product doesn't work, you are given the choice of a refund or a replacement.
Are the photos in colour or black and white?
Are you comfortable or shall I turn the heat down?
You can move the cursor either by using the mouse or by using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
Is it my imagination or is David behaving strangely at the moment?

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Either, or, neither, nor

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Linguistics: connecting words which express a contrast

or conjunction (IF NOT)

if not:

You should eat more, or you'll make yourself ill.

More examples

"Clear off or I'll call the police!"
Do your coat up, Joe, or you'll freeze.
Are you comfortable or shall I turn the heat down?
Come on, stir yourselves, or you'll be late!
I heard him shout "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Either, or, neither, nor

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Linguistics: connecting words which express a contrast

or conjunction (EXPLAIN)

used to show that a word or phrase means the same as, or explains, limits, or corrects, another word or phrase:

Rosalind, or Roz to her friends, took the initiative.

Things have been going very well recently. Or they were, until two days ago.

More examples

I'll do it later. Or, at least I'll try to do it.
Football, or soccer as it's sometimes called, is very popular in the country.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Linguistics: relative forms

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Grammar

Or and otherwise

We often use or and otherwise with conditional meanings: …

Or is a conjunction that connects two or more possibilities or alternatives. It connects words, phrases and clauses which are the same grammatical type: …

Idioms

or no
or so
or two

noun

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/ˌəʊˈɑːr/ us

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/ˌoʊˈɑːr/

OR noun (IN HOSPITAL)

[ C ] US

abbreviation for operating room US

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Medical places & organizations

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OR noun (ADDRESS)

written abbreviation for the US state of Oregon: used in addresses

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Towns & regions: named regions of countries

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(Definition of or from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

or | American Dictionary

conjunction

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/ɔr, ər/

or conjunction (POSSIBILITIES)

used to connect different possibilities:

Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?

You can get that blouse in blue, gray, or white.

There were ten or twelve people in the room (= approximately that number of people).

We’d better make a decision soon or the whole deal will fall through.

After a negative verb, or can also continue the negative meaning of the verb:

He won’t eat meat or fish (= and will not eat fish either).

or conjunction (EXPLAIN)

used to show that a word or phrase means the same as, or explains or corrects, another word or phrase:

Photons, or individual particles of light, travel huge distances in space.

Things were going well, or seemed to be, but the relationship had already begun to change.

Idioms

or else

or so

noun [ C ]

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/ˈoʊˈɑr/

abbreviation for operating room

(Definition of or from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

or | Business English

noun [ U ]

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WORKPLACE, MANAGEMENT

→ operations research

(Definition of or from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of or

in Chinese (Traditional)

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in Danish

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in Italian

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in Spanish

可能性, （用於連接不同的可能性）或，或者, 還是，亦或…

～か～, （否定語の後で）～でも～でも（ない）, （命令文の後で）そうでなければ…

veya, yoksa, veyahut…

ou, ni, ou (sinon)/sinon…

o, ni…

أو…

nebo, jinak…

eller, ellers…

atau, kalau tidak…

หรือ, มิฉะนั้น…

hoặc, hay, nếu không…

czy, lub, albo…

atau, kalau tidak…

oder…

eller, ellers…

아니면, -혹은, 안 그러면…

ou, nem, senão…

可能性, （用于连接不同的可能性）或，或者, 还是，亦或…

o, oppure, né…

или, точнее, иначе…

o, ni, abreviatura de “operating room”: quirófano…

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What is the pronunciation of or?

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opulent

opulently

opus

opuses

or die in the attempt idiom

or else idiom

or no idiom

or otherwise idiom

Meaning of or in English

or conjunction (POSSIBILITIES)

or conjunction (IF NOT)

or conjunction (EXPLAIN)

Grammar

Idioms

OR noun (IN HOSPITAL)

OR noun (ADDRESS)

or | American Dictionary

or conjunction (POSSIBILITIES)

or conjunction (EXPLAIN)

Idioms

or | Business English

Translations of or

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