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When have you ever heard of a cantor or any artist turning anyone down when he is strongly urged to perform?
Sholom Aleichem

Meaning of "or" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD OR

Contraction of other, used to introduce an alternative, changed (through influence of either) from Old English oththe; compare Old High German odar (German oder).
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF OR

or  [ɔː] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF OR

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Or is a conjunction.
The conjunction is an invariable grammatical category used to join together words and sentences.

WHAT DOES OR MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Or

Or may refer to: ▪ grammatical conjunction ▪ Exclusive or, a logical operation ▪ Inclusive or, a logical operation OR, O.R. or or may also refer to...

Definition of or in the English dictionary

The first definition of or in the dictionary is used to join alternatives. Other definition of or is used to join rephrasings of the same thing. Or is also used to join two alternatives when the first is preceded by either or whether.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE OR

oquassa
OR circuit
or else
OR gate
or other
or so
ora
ora et labora
ora pro nobis
ORAC
orach
orache
oracle
oracles
oracular
oracularity
oracularly
oracularness
oraculous
oraculously

Synonyms and antonyms of or in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «or» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF OR

Find out the translation of or to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of or from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «or» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

或者
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

o
570 millions of speakers

English

or
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

या
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

أَوْ
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

или
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

ou
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

অথবা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

ou
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Atau
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

oder
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

または
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

또는
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Utawa
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

hoặc
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

அல்லது
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

किंवा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

veya
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

oppure
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

lub
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

або
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

sau
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ή
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

of
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

eller
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

eller
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of or

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «OR»

The term «or» is very widely used and occupies the 108 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
98
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «or» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of or
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «or».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «OR» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «or» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «or» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about or

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «OR»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word or.
1
Josef Albers
I have taught my students not to apply rules or mechanical ways of seeing.
2
Sholom Aleichem
When have you ever heard of a cantor or any artist turning anyone down when he is strongly urged to perform?
3
Moran Atias
You can forgive if the shot is not right, or the lighting is a bit off, but not if the writing is bad.
4
Thomas P.M. Barnett
Crafty politician that he is, Obama was smart enough to set low enough standards for his administration to claim 'victory' by the summer of 2011 or so.
5
Beck Bennett
Working with children has done well for me. I don't find them intolerable or frustrating. They're just fun, full of energy, and happy to be there.
6
Tommy Bolin
I think the way I play the guitar is very percussive. I play a lot of rhythm chops as though I were playing congas or something.
7
John Bracken
If Sir John A. MacDonald or any other leader of that day were here now, he would have a different program from that of sixty years ago. He sought to give his people policies suited to the time in which he lived.
8
Louise Brown
People still come up to me and ask whether I am Louise Brown or if they've seen me somewhere else before.
9
Chevy Chase
My father was the funniest guy I ever met. I'm not sure if I stole his stuff or if I inherited it.
10
Gary Cohn
Upon graduation, believe it or not, I had no job. I had no interviews. I had no prospects. I had no worries. What I did have, I had passion. I had enormous passion. I had passion for financial markets. I had fallen in love with financial markets.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «OR»

Discover the use of or in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to or and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Program Or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age
This is a friendly little book with a big and actionable message. World-renowned media theorist and counterculture figure Douglas Rushkoff is the originator of ideas such as "viral media," "social currency" and "screenagers.
Douglas Rushkoff, 2010
2
Tweets from Tahrir: Egypt's Revolution as it Unfolded, in ...
January 25, 2011 marks a turning point in Egypt's history which saw an uprising topple the 30 year incumbent regime in just 18 days. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets.
Alex Nunns, Nadia Idle, 2011
3
Inferno: (a Poet's Novel)
The first part of the story, mesmerizing readers with its ripple of memoir, tells the saga (or hell) of a poet girl.
Eileen Myles, 2010
4
Coffee, Tea or Me?
Remember when flying was glamorous and sexy, even fun?
Donald Bain, Baker Trudy, Jones Rachel, 2003
5
Midnight on the Mavi Marmara
Within minutes, nine peace activists are dead, shot by the Israelis. Scores of others are injured. The 700 people on board the ships are arrested before being transported to detention centres in Israel and then deported.
Moustafa Bayoumi, 2010
6
The Global Warming Reader: A Century of Writing About ...
Here is Elizabeth Kolbert's groundbreaking essay "The Darkening Sea," Michael Crichton's skeptical view of climate change, George Monbiot's biting indictment of those who are really using up the planet's resources, NASA scientist James ...
Bill McKibben, 2012
7
Drone Warfare
Now, with the use of drones escalating at a meteoric pace, Benjamin has written this book as a call to action: "It is meant to wake a sleeping public," she writes, "lulled into thinking that drones are good, that targeted killings are ...
Medea Benjamin, 2012
8
Ivyland
Post-urban New Jersey is instantly recognizable in this interlinked series of short vignettes. . . . and Lev's living room is puddles of water and sun, and a bunch of those furry caterpillars are hauling themselves from surface to surface.
Miles Klee, 2012
9
Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition
This edition includes new case studies, new research, and updated examples from around the world. Announcing an update of one of the best marketing books of all time.
Jack Trout, Steve Rivkin, 2010
10
Wikileaks and the Age of Transparency
But political analyst and writer Micah Sifry argues that WikiLeaks is not the whole story: it is a symptom, an indicator of an ongoing generational and philosophical struggle between older, closed systems, and the new open culture of the ...
Micah L. Sifry, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «OR»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term or is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Abolition or attrition? Mulcair and Harper offer different paths to …
You have to admit it's a bold move for Stephen Harper. To make a virtue of appointing no senators, having appointed a record 59 — after ... «CBC.ca, Jul 15»
2
Nibali vs. Froome: Misunderstanding or breach of etiquette?
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was looking back at Chris Froome (Sky) while the race leader stopped to attend to a mechanical. Then, controversially ... «velonews.competitor.com, Jul 15»
3
Danny Castillo: Win or lose I always get an extra check on the back …
Regardless of whether I like him or not, when you fight another man for 15 minutes in a cage where we really try to hurt each other, there's a ... «Bloody Elbow, Jul 15»
4
When Detecting Land Mines, The Nose Knows — Or, In This Case …
In Angola, a civil war that raged for decades has left lingering, and dangerous, reminders of the violence across the countryside. Long since the ... «NPR, Jul 15»
5
UFC on FOX 16 Embedded, Episode 4: 'Barao will submit or knock …
UFC on FOX 16 Embedded, Episode 4: 'Barao will submit or knock him out for sure'. By MMA Fighting Newswire on Jul 25, 2015, 2:49a + ... «MMA Fighting, Jul 15»
6
Miracle or optical illusion? Video shows Virgin Mary's lips moving as …
The interior of Saint Charbel's Maronite Catholic Church in Punchbowl, Sydney, Australia, as seen in a photo posted on the church's official ... «ChristianToday, Jul 15»
7
Netanyahu's All or Nothing Game With Iran
It is left to historians and academics to decide whether Netanyahu fits the shoes of the great British leader, but not too early or presumptuous to ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»
8
Hiring a maid or driver would soon require more paperwork
NEW DELHI: Hiring a maid or driver could soon get more complicated. The householder may have to issue an appointment letter that clearly ... «Economic Times, Jul 15»
9
New "smart window" material selectively blocks light and/or heat
Two years ago, Delia Milliron and her team produced a "smart" glass coating that could block visible light, near-infrared light (NIR), or both. «Gizmag, Jul 15»
10
State Rights, or Big Government and Monsanto Run Amok? House …
Since the days of Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party has avowed itself the defender of state and local rights in the face of an imperious ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Or [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/or>. Apr 2024 ».
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