or
- 1Used to join two or more choices, when any one of them could be true.
Do you want tea or coffee?
We can walk to the park or take the bus.
UsageUse or when not applies to both choices: I don't eat meat or fish.
- 2Used between two names that mean the same thing.
The killer whale, or orca, is a black and white sea animal.
Ayers Rock, or Uluru, is a huge red rock in Australia.
Note
- 3Used to fix or say more exactly something you have just said.
We met on Monday, or rather Tuesday, because Monday was a holiday.
I'll be there in ten minutes, or maybe twenty with this traffic.
UsageSay or rather to correct yourself.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4Used to say what will happen if the first part does not happen or is not true.
Put on your coat, or you'll get cold.
She must be at work, or she would answer the phone.
UsageOften used after an order, or in or else: Hurry, or you'll be late.
- 5USoh-AHR/ˌoʊˈɑɹ/UKoh-AH/ˌəʊˈɑː/Short for operating room: the hospital room where doctors do surgery.
The doctors wheeled him into the OR for surgery on his knee.
Only staff in clean scrubs may enter the OR.
- 6Short for Oregon: a US state, written this way in mailing addresses.
Send the package to 85 Pine Street, Bend, OR 97701.
My aunt's letters always come from Eugene, OR.
UsagePut it between the city and ZIP code (Portland, OR 97201). In normal sentences, write Oregon.
- 7In logic and computers, an operation that gives 'true' if at least one of two things is true.
In logic class, we learned that p or q is true when at least one part is true.
The teacher wrote A or B on the board and asked when it would be false.
Note
- 8A part in a circuit that turns on its output when at least one input is on.
This OR gate lights the lamp if either switch is on.
Connect both buttons to the OR gate, and either one will ring the bell.
Note
- 9USoh-AHR/ˌoʊˈɑɹ/UKoh-AH/ˌəʊˈɑː/Short for Olympic Record: the best result ever in an event at the Olympic Games.
She set an OR in the 200-meter butterfly.
The OR in the long jump has stood for many years.
Note
- 10
- 11The gold or yellow color used on a coat of arms.
Her family's coat of arms shows a black bird on a background of or.
The painter used shiny gold paint for the or on the shield.
Similargold
Note
- 12Used to mean before. It is usually followed by the word ever.
I looked to heaven, and tried to pray; But or ever a prayer had gusht, A wicked whisper came, and made My heart as dry as dust.
1834, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient MarinerHere, or ever means before.And Time went forth into the worlds to obey the commands of the gods, yet he cast furtive glances at his masters, and the gods distrusted Time because he had known the worlds or ever the gods became.
1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the GodsHere, or ever means before.Note
- 13USoh-AHR/ˌoʊˈɑɹ/UKoh-AH/ˌəʊˈɑː/Short for official receipt: a receipt a business gives you as proof that you paid.
After I paid the rent, the landlord gave me an OR.
Keep the OR in case you need to return the phone.
Note
- 14At an earlier time, or before something else.
Note
- 15Short for operations research: using math and data to help organizations plan and make better decisions.
- 16Short for other ranks: members of the armed forces who are not commissioned officers, or one such member.
- 17Short for original research: on Wikipedia, information no reliable published source supports, which editors may not add.
- 18Short for odorant receptor: a part of a smell cell that picks up certain smells.
- 19Short for Orissa: the old name of Odisha, a state in eastern India.
Showing meanings only.
More uses
- or soabout, or a little more or less, as in ten minutes or so
Practice
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Origins
It comes from Old English words meaning "either" and "or".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- The conjunction derives from Old English words meaning either and or. en.m.wiktionary.org
From the French word or, which comes from Latin aurum, meaning "gold".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- English or derives from French or. en.wiktionary.org
- French or derives from Latin aurum. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin aurum means gold. en.wiktionary.org
From an Old English word that was taken from Old Norse.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The fourth etymology of 'or' derives from an Old English word. en.m.wiktionary.org
- That Old English word came from Old Norse. en.m.wiktionary.org