or what

English

Pronunciation

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Phrase

or what

1. (idiomatic) Or something else; allows for the existence of an unexpressed alternative to what was said.
   • 1926, Theodore Dreiser, An American Tragedy, page 68:

     How should he know or guess or what?

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

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

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

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

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

     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?

Usage notes

Almost always at the end of a sentence, often in the form of a question.

Translations

Translations

• Polish: albo co, czy co, czy jak
• Russian: или ка́к (ru) (ili kák) (colloquial)

Further reading

• “or what”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “or what”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “or what” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “or what” (US) / “or what” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.

Anagrams

• awroth, hot war