variants or less commonly life-or-death
: involving or culminating in life or death : vitally important as if involving life or death

Examples of life-and-death in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The editor used audio recordings from doorbell cameras and a series of 911 calls to give audiences a sense of the confrontation, which is far different from the life-and-death scenario Lorincz describes to police officers. Addie Morfoot, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025 The premiere ends with the 113 arriving at a country music festival, where an impending twister has torn apart the stage, resulting in several life-and-death crises. Andy Swift, TVLine, 9 Oct. 2025 Few people have mined as much entertainment from the contrast between high stakes and low morals — from how the life-and-death concerns of a big heist or an elaborate conspiracy might ultimately just reinforce the sense that nothing matters, and nobody gets out alive. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2025 Advertisement These are not good odds, especially for something as life-and-death in scope as a pandemic. Dr. Seth Berkley, Time, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for life-and-death

Word History

First Known Use

1804, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of life-and-death was in 1804

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Life-and-death.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life-and-death. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

life-and-death

adjective
: ending in life or death : deciding which will survive
a life-and-death struggle

More from Merriam-Webster on life-and-death

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