all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·ing

ˌȯl-ər-ˈnə-thiŋ

: all-or-none

: accepting no less than everything

he's an all-or-nothing perfectionist

: risking everything

an all-or-nothing combat strategy

Examples of all-or-nothing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This smoldering focus is a reflection of their all-or-nothing approach to life. —

Valerie Mesa, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024 The way to extirpate this bias is by realizing that the concept of death is not an all-or-nothing matter, but rather a spectrum—something that comes in degrees. —

Susana Monsó, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024 An all-or-nothing approach to security simply doesn’t work. —

Tony Bradley, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 The Los Angeles Dodgers are hanging by a thread after defeating the San Diego Padres, 8-0, in an elimination game Wednesday at Petco Park, and are heading into an all-or-nothing Game 5 unsure of their starting pitcher. —

Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for all-or-nothing

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'all-or-nothing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of all-or-nothing was in 1764

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“All-or-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all-or-nothing. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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