life-and-death
adjective
variants
or less commonly life-or-death
: involving or culminating in life or death : vitally important as if involving life or death
Examples of life-and-death in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The life-and-death stakes were raised when the former high school series jumped five years to show a now-young adult Rue becoming a drug mule and working for rival kingpins (Martha Kelly’s Laurie also took her own life in the finale).
—
Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
On a darker note, some successful bets on life-and-death events such as war in Iran and the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro have raised questions about whether bettors are trading on insider knowledge.
—Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 27 May 2026
Playing a child’s game and managing life-and-death Middle East politics share very little in common.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
Such initiatives are crucial for understanding how our home star emits radiation, a life-and-death concern for human spaceflight missions — particularly for trips to the moon, as NASA is pursuing with the Artemis program, or Mars.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
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Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
On a darker note, some successful bets on life-and-death events such as war in Iran and the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro have raised questions about whether bettors are trading on insider knowledge.
—Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 27 May 2026
Playing a child’s game and managing life-and-death Middle East politics share very little in common.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
Such initiatives are crucial for understanding how our home star emits radiation, a life-and-death concern for human spaceflight missions — particularly for trips to the moon, as NASA is pursuing with the Artemis program, or Mars.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
Cite this Entry
“Life-and-death.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life-and-death. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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