one or the other
idiom
: one of two persons or things but not the other
One or the other of us will have to go.
Examples of one or the other in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
About 40 people came to support one or the other viewpoint.
—
Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
Whether one or the other makes sense for you depends on the nature of your emergency, says Bond.
—Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Successful businesses should aim to apply strategies that link them together instead of choosing between one or the other.
—Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Sometimes one or the other would instead push up into one of the attacking midfield roles, with two natural defensive midfielders behind them.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for one or the other
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
Whether one or the other makes sense for you depends on the nature of your emergency, says Bond.
—Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Successful businesses should aim to apply strategies that link them together instead of choosing between one or the other.
—Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Sometimes one or the other would instead push up into one of the attacking midfield roles, with two natural defensive midfielders behind them.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for one or the other
Cite this Entry
“One or the other.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one%20or%20the%20other. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share