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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

While researching a show for the History Channel about — ironically enough — a civilization-ending pandemic, one of the Raw team was scouring survivalist forums online and came across the Hoffmans, a crew of six would-be gold miners from Oregon about to embark on an all-or-nothing trip to Alaska. —Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 May 2023

Remember, though, that these are not all-or-nothing ranges. —Emily Abbate, Men's Health, 28 Apr. 2023

Tuesday night, the small-ball approach with Strus as the de facto power forward was exposed with the Heat outrebounded 63-39 in their 116-105 loss to the Atlanta Hawks that put them in this all-or-nothing position against the Bulls for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Apr. 2023

Lose, and there is a second-chance all-or-nothing home game next Friday night, against the winner of a Toronto Raptors-Chicago Bulls play-in game. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2023

Tweets, comments and reactions were divided into two opposing camps, both presenting problematic, all-or-nothing thinking. —Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2023

But thanks, in part, to the pandemic, the stark all-or-nothing choices mothers have faced around working or not are becoming more flexible. —Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2023

The rebounding battle would end in Alabama’s favor (52 to 48), but SDSU’s all-or-nothing approach on the glass prevented the Tide from scoring a single point in transition. —Nick Alvarez | [e-mail], al, 25 Mar. 2023

Reducing your plastic footprint is not an all-or-nothing approach, Jackson says. —Jerica Pender, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023

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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