all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing

ˌȯl-ər-ˈnə-thiŋ

1

: all-or-none

2

a

: accepting no less than everything

he's an all-or-nothing perfectionist

b

: risking everything

an all-or-nothing combat strategy

Examples of all-or-nothing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, her all-or-nothing spirit, inspiring to some but grating to others, prompted her to take her goats to the streets of New York City last fall to raise attention to her plight. —Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024

Traditional bracket competitions are all-or-nothing; participants write one team’s name into each open slot. —James Pollard, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024

Support for democracy and human rights is not an all-or-nothing proposition. —Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

Campbell’s all-or-nothing, go-for-it mentality hurt him in that title game. —Steve Silverman, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024

For anyone willing to bet on that future, Tesla is still the only real game in town, which also explains its lofty market valuation and the all-or-nothing nature of the company’s stock price — soaring 50% in 2021, plunging 65% in 2022, and then leaping 102% in 2023. —Amy Stillman, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024

Shot with the Safdie's grungy, crackling style, Uncut Gems could have starred a 1970s Al Pacino, as Howard dodges loan sharks, romantic entanglements, and an all-or-nothing scheme involving a valuable opal that hinges, improbably, on the Boston Celtics 2012 playoff run. —Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2023

So tuning out all-or-nothing diet mindsets can improve our nutrition and benefit us in deeper ways. —Oona Hanson, CNN, 28 Jan. 2024

But saving for college isn’t an all-or-nothing decision. —The New York Times, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing -ˈnəth-iŋ 

: all-or-none