do-or-die
do-or-die adjective: requiring a determined or desperate effort in order to avoid the consequences of failure.
Adjective
do-or-die (not comparable)
- Requiring a determined or desperate effort in order to avoid the consequences of failure.
- At that period the L.N.W.R., with its Webb compounds, was addicted to late arrivals at Carlisle and the Caledonian proceeded to make up the arrears with a "do-or-die" attitude.1959 February, A. G. Dunbar, “The "Dunalastair I" 4-4-0s of the Caledonian”, in Trains Illustrated, page 86
- The do-or-die mentality gambaru permeates Japanese society, where the pursuit of a goal can carry more significance than the outcome.2020 August 24, Kaori Enjoji, “‘Do or die’ mentality brings Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to the brink”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 May 2025
do-or-die meaning in Hindi and Tamil
do-or-die in Hindi
- desperate effort
- करो या मरो karo yā maro
do-or-die in Tamil
- desperate effort
- செய் அல்லது செத்து மடி cey allatu cettu maṭi
Forms of do-or-die
| alternative form | do or die |
|---|
Origin of do-or-die
An adjectival phrase composed of the words: do, or, and die all conjoined by hyphens.
Questions about do-or-die
- What does do-or-die mean?
- Do-or-die means requiring a determined or desperate effort in order to avoid the consequences of failure.
- What is do-or-die in Hindi?
- Do-or-die in Hindi is करो या मरो (karo yā maro). See Do-or-die meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is do-or-die?
- Do-or-die is an adjective.
Words near do-or-die in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: do-or-die (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-do-or-die.ogg.
Cite this entry: “do-or-die.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/do-or-die. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.