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
No one would deliberately want to put their friends in unpleasant situations, but excluding one or the other also seems hurtful.
—
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Cheney operated much of the time from undisclosed locations in the months after the 2001 attacks, kept apart from Bush to ensure one or the other would survive any follow-up assault on the country’s leadership.
—Calvin Woodward, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
In the Upper South, cool-season grasses provide the best looking lawns, and Middle Southerners use one or the other depending on their USDA hardiness zone or microclimate.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
Many frothers can handle one or the other, but the Breville nails both, thanks to its precise temperature control.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 Oct. 2025
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Judith Martin, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Cheney operated much of the time from undisclosed locations in the months after the 2001 attacks, kept apart from Bush to ensure one or the other would survive any follow-up assault on the country’s leadership.
—Calvin Woodward, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025
In the Upper South, cool-season grasses provide the best looking lawns, and Middle Southerners use one or the other depending on their USDA hardiness zone or microclimate.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
Many frothers can handle one or the other, but the Breville nails both, thanks to its precise temperature control.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 Oct. 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 13 Nov. 2025.
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