for better or (for) worse

idiom

: whether good or bad things happen : no matter what happens
We've made our decision and now we have to stick to it for better or worse.

Examples of for better or (for) worse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One of the clearest takeaways from this year's awards is that many US airports are in the midst of undergoing major transformations—for better or for worse. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2024 Whittaker says that, for better or worse, a phone number remains a necessary requisite as the identifier Signal privately collects from its users. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 20 Feb. 2024 If nothing else, for better or worse, the Chargers are a family-run business. Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2024 Future, Migos, ILoveMakonnen (for better or worse), and BlocBoy JB have all been recipients. Damien Scott, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2024 My story about Kevin takes place, like my own childhood, far from the cities and the major towns of Denmark, in a small place of fields, fields, and more fields, where for better or worse everyone knows everyone else. Dennis Zhou, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Hathaway played Andy, an up-and-coming journalist who reluctantly took a job as Priestly's assistant despite possessing zero fashion sense, which amuses, horrifies, and ultimately disrupts (for better or worse) the majority of Priestly's staff (Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Gisele Bündchen). Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2024 The Quintanillas, for better or worse, have been litigiously protective of her image, and this docuseries perhaps explains why to some extent. Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2024 Hiring, and sometimes firing, the CEO will impact the non-profit’s activities greatly, for better or for worse. Bill Conerly, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'for better or (for) worse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near for better or (for) worse

Forbes scale

for better or (for) worse

forbid

Cite this Entry

“For better or (for) worse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20better%20or%20%28for%29%20worse. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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