Standard Lemma guide

do-or-die

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Requiring a determined or desperate effort in order to avoid the consequences of failure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

An adjectival phrase composed of the words: do, or, and die all conjoined by hyphens.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: marche ou crève — desperate effort
  • French: courir ou mourir — desperate effort
  • Hindi: करो या मरो (karo yā maro) — desperate effort
  • Icelandic: duga eða drepast — desperate effort
  • Māori: ranga mārō — desperate effort
  • Portuguese: matar ou morrer — desperate effort
  • Spanish: a matar o morir — desperate effort
  • Tamil: செய் அல்லது செத்து மடி (cey allatu cettu maṭi) — desperate effort