or else
idiom
1
—used to say what will happen if something is not done
You have to leave or else you will be arrested for trespassing.
2
—used to say what another possibility is
He either thinks he can't do it or else he just isn't interested.
3
informal
—used in angry speech to express a threat without saying exactly what the threat is
Do what I say or else!
Examples of or else in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Early action scenes are told in strangely oblique ways, with gunfire erupting off-screen (but little carnage shown) or else via abrupt cuts, filled in later by ultra-violent flashbacks.
—
Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Apr. 2025
Wood used in construction is oak or else Douglas fir sourced from southern France.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The drafters of the Constitution of the United States, one of the foundational documents of liberal democracy, drew on their personal experience with the British monarch to argue that executive power had to be tempered by checks and balances…or else.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 20 Apr. 2025
Don’t go in the woods at night, characters tell each other, or else.
—Blair Braverman, Outside Online, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for or else
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Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Apr. 2025
Wood used in construction is oak or else Douglas fir sourced from southern France.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The drafters of the Constitution of the United States, one of the foundational documents of liberal democracy, drew on their personal experience with the British monarch to argue that executive power had to be tempered by checks and balances…or else.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 20 Apr. 2025
Don’t go in the woods at night, characters tell each other, or else.
—Blair Braverman, Outside Online, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for or else
Cite this Entry
“Or else.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/or%20else. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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