all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing

ˌȯl-ər-ˈnə-thiŋ

1

: all-or-none

2

a

: accepting no less than everything

he's an all-or-nothing perfectionist

b

: risking everything

an all-or-nothing combat strategy

Examples of all-or-nothing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjust Your Goals and Strategically ‘Downshift’ Sometimes fitness can be subject to all-or-nothing thinking. —Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 10 Dec. 2025

Late last Sunday night, on an all-or-nothing Commanders 2-point conversion try in overtime, Denver outside linebacker Nik Bonitto got free and batted down a Marcus Mariota pass, one of the wildest finishes in a season full of them. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2025

Garten’s advice doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing situation. —Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 25 Nov. 2025

Rybakina is one of the purest ballstrikers on the tour, whose all-or-nothing game can veer from erratic to unplayable in the space of a few games. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for all-or-nothing

• nothing

Medical Definition

all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing -ˈnəth-iŋ 

: all-or-none