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
Many of the commenters were tickled by the cat facing a life-and-death situation and coming away bored.
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Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 31 Dec. 2025
For the final few episodes of the series, Eleven has been reckoning with a life-and-death dilemma.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
There, Slayton–speaking in quiet tones—laid down what was NASA’s life-and-death law.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
And alas, a number of Americans are learning the hard way that sunshine and mid-fifties in the high country can quickly become a life-and-death situation.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for life-and-death
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Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 31 Dec. 2025
For the final few episodes of the series, Eleven has been reckoning with a life-and-death dilemma.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
There, Slayton–speaking in quiet tones—laid down what was NASA’s life-and-death law.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
And alas, a number of Americans are learning the hard way that sunshine and mid-fifties in the high country can quickly become a life-and-death situation.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 27 Oct. 2025
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 10 Jan. 2026.
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