or
or — conjunction
1. links two or more possible answers, actions, things, or situations, showing that
links two or more possible answers, actions, things, or situations, showing that one of them is the relevant choice.
Would you like tea or hot milk before bed tonight?
question pattern: A or B
Maya can meet us on Thursday or Friday after class.
or linking two time options
Press the red bell or wave to the driver here.
Is the package under the desk or beside the sofa?
The twins will study medicine or engineering at college.
- tea or coffee
- Thursday or Friday
- under the desk or beside the sofa
- medicine or engineering
- either
often appears before the first of two options to make the pair clearer
- alternatively
more formal and often starts a new sentence or clause
- whether
used more for doubt or reported questions than for direct choice
- and
joins items together instead of offering a choice between them
Grammar Patterns
A or B
whether A or B
verb + or + alternative
Usage Note
The basic pattern for alternatives. 'Either' can be added before the first option when there are two clear choices, but plain 'or' is often enough in everyday English.
Common Mistakes
2. with a negative verb, it extends the same 'not' meaning to another item or actio
with a negative verb, it extends the same 'not' meaning to another item or action in the list.
Ben doesn't drink coffee or tea during night shifts.
negative verb + A or B
The old printer can't scan or copy colored pages.
cannot + verb or verb
The baby would not eat rice or noodles at lunch.
Grandma can't hear the bell or the phone upstairs.
We never saw stars or moon through the thick smoke.
- don't drink coffee or tea
- can't scan or copy
- not eat rice or noodles
- never saw stars or moon
- and
appears in positive lists when all items are included
Grammar Patterns
not + A or B
never + A or B
cannot + A or B
Usage Note
This sense depends on a negative word such as 'not', 'never', or 'can't'. Distinguish from sense 1, where 'or' simply offers alternatives without any negative meaning.
Common Mistakes
3. joins an instruction or warning to the bad result that may happen if the first a
joins an instruction or warning to the bad result that may happen if the first action is not followed.
Put the fish in ice, or it will smell by noon.
warning: do X or + result
Hurry, or the last train to Tainan will leave.
imperative + or + future result
Keep the gate closed, or the goats will reach the road.
Rina must charge her phone, or Dad cannot find her.
Wear gloves, or your hands will freeze on the mountain.
- hurry, or ...
- keep the gate closed, or ...
- wear gloves, or ...
Grammar Patterns
imperative + or + clause
do X or + bad result
Usage Note
Often follows an order, suggestion, or urgent reminder. Distinguish from sense 4, which adds an explanation or correction rather than a possible consequence.
Common Mistakes
4. introduces words that restate something in a clearer way, narrow its meaning, co
introduces words that restate something in a clearer way, narrow its meaning, correct it, or partly take it back.
The drug eased the pain, or at least the worst part.
or at least for limiting a statement
Lima beans, or broad beans, were on every table.
noun, or + equivalent term
The island is ninety miles away, or about three hours by boat.
or + approximate explanation
Nadia, or Dr. Wu at work, answered the call.
The meeting was finished, or seemed finished, before the lights failed.
- or at least
- or about
- or broad beans
- or Dr. Wu
Grammar Patterns
term, or + explanation
statement, or + correction
name, or + another name
Usage Note
Common when the speaker adjusts the first wording instead of fully replacing it. This is the only sense here that often appears with commas around a short correcting phrase.
Common Mistakes
or so
idiomUsed to show that a number or amount is not exact.
The meeting will last an hour or so.
She paid fifty dollars or so for the dress.
Used when you are not certain about the exact person, thing, or place.
He works at a bank or something.
She met him at a party or other.
or — adjective
1. in coat of arms language, put after a noun to show that part has a gold or yello
in coat of arms language, put after a noun to show that part has a gold or yellow color.
The shield shows three lions or, bright yellow above blue waves.
heraldic pattern: noun + or
On the town crest, a crown or, painted gold, sits above two keys.
The museum label calls the bird or, shown in yellow on black.
Her sketch placed a star or, colored gold, beside a red cross.
- crown or
- bird or
- star or
- lions or
- argent
the heraldic term for silver or white
Grammar Patterns
noun + or
Usage Note
Placed after the noun in heraldic description, unlike ordinary color adjectives in everyday English. This sense belongs to specialist blazon language.
Common Mistakes
or — noun
1. the room in a US hospital where operations are carried out.
the room in a US hospital where operations are carried out.
The nurse wheeled Carlos into the OR before sunrise.
American abbreviation: the OR
A red light flashed outside the OR during surgery.
Mia waited near the OR with her father's coat.
Only staff with masks could enter the OR that afternoon.
- enter the OR
- outside the OR
- into the OR
- operating room
the full form of the abbreviation
- surgery
can mean the operation itself or the room in some contexts, so it is less exact
Grammar Patterns
the OR
in the OR
outside the OR
Usage Note
Usually written as capital letters in American medical contexts. In ordinary conversation outside hospitals, people often say 'operating room' instead.
Common Mistakes
2. the postal short form used for Oregon in US addresses and similar forms.
the postal short form used for Oregon in US addresses and similar forms.
Please write Salem, OR 97301 on the last line.
address pattern: city, OR + zip code
The parcel came from Eugene, OR, on Tuesday morning.
Her aunt moved to Portland, OR, after retirement.
The form asks for city and state, so Maya entered Bend, OR.
- Salem, OR
- Portland, OR
- Bend, OR
- OR 97301
- Oregon
the full state name used in normal writing and speech
Grammar Patterns
city, OR + zip code
place name + OR
Usage Note
Mainly used in addresses, labels, and forms, usually after a city name. In ordinary sentences, people normally write the full state name 'Oregon'.
Common Mistakes
Synonym discussion
Sense: conjunction/1
For everyday alternatives, or is the normal choice word. Either often appears before the first of two options and makes the pair sound neatly balanced: either bus or train. Whether is different: it introduces doubt, uncertainty, or an indirect question, as in We asked whether Maya was coming. Nor belongs to negative structure and sounds more formal than the usual don't ... or ... pattern in speech. And/or is mainly legal, technical, or form language, where one option, the other, or both are possible. In most ordinary conversation, start with plain or: tea or coffee, Thursday or Friday, stay in or go out.
Common collocations
Phrases
- either ... or
- whether ... or not
- or not
- or at least
- city, OR + zip code
Etymology
The everyday conjunction or comes from Middle English, where it developed as a shortened form of the older conjunction other, which had replaced Old English oththe. This entry also includes a separate heraldic or, meaning gold or yellow on a coat of arms. That specialist form came into English from Anglo-French or, from Latin aurum, meaning "gold". So modern English writes two historically different words in the same way: the common linker for choices, and the heraldic color term.