or what

phrase

Or something else; allows for the existence of an unexpressed alternative to what was said.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticOr something else; allows for the existence of an unexpressed alternative to what was said.

    How should he know or guess or what?

    1926, Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy, page 68
    4 more examples

    Do they check you at the door or what?" Michael laughed.

    1982, Armistead Maupin, Further Tales of the City, page 146

    Rahneesh: Hey, Greggie, what about those new clothes, huh? You gonna cough up some new duds or what?

    2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “Kinksters and kinksterettes—Who are these people, anyway?” (chapter 1), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 30

    [S]he asked me, and like you, I didn't know if that was like having heart failure or what.

    2006, V.C. Andrews, Broken Flower, page 141

    I don't know if she was joking or what, but I joked back with her anyway. […]. Did I take her back to her hotel room and drop her off or what?

    2007, Omar Tyree, What They Want: A Novel, page 95

Translations

Polish albo co, czy co
  • albo coTranslations
  • czy coTranslations
  • czy jakTranslations
Russian или ка́к
  • или ка́к (ili kák)Translations
Tagalog o ano
  • o anoTranslations
Tamil என்ன
  • என்ன (eṉṉa)Translations
Cite this entry
APA

or what. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20what

MLA

“or what.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20what. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “or what,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20what.

Source: or what on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.