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
Hysterical strength is when people exhibit superhuman abilities during life-and-death circumstances, and the most common example is when a mother lifts a car to rescue her child.
—
Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 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
And despite efforts to educate the public on what to do on a day of severe weather, people still sometimes make common mistakes when faced with a possible life-and-death situation.
—Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 1 Apr. 2026
The drumline loops and VST strings would be over-the-top if the performance weren’t so impassioned, the stakes not literally life-and-death.
—Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
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Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 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
And despite efforts to educate the public on what to do on a day of severe weather, people still sometimes make common mistakes when faced with a possible life-and-death situation.
—Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 1 Apr. 2026
The drumline loops and VST strings would be over-the-top if the performance weren’t so impassioned, the stakes not literally life-and-death.
—Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 30 Mar. 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 12 Apr. 2026.
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