OR

OR ¹  (ôr)

n.

A logical operator that returns a true value if one or both operands are true.

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OR ²

abbr.

1. operating room

2. operations research

3. Oregon

4. owner's risk

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or ¹  (ôr; r when unstressed)

conj.

1.

a. Used to indicate an alternative, usually only before the last term of a series: hot or cold; this, that, or the other.

b. Used to indicate the second of two alternatives, the first being preceded by either or whether: Your answer is either ingenious or wrong. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

c. Archaic Used to indicate the first of two alternatives, with the force of either or whether.

2. Used to indicate a synonymous or equivalent expression: acrophobia, or fear of great heights.

3. Used to indicate uncertainty or indefiniteness: two or three.

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[Middle English, from other, or (from Old English, from oththe) and from outher (from Old English hwæther, ther; see either).]

Usage Note: When all the elements in a series connected by or are singular, the verb they govern is singular: Tom or Jack is coming. Beer, ale, or wine is included in the charge. When all the elements are plural, the verb is plural. When the elements do not agree in number, some grammarians have suggested that the verb should agree in number with the nearest element: Tom or his sisters are coming. The girls or their brother is coming. Cold symptoms or headache is the usual first sign. Other grammarians, however, have argued that such constructions are inherently illogical and that the only solution is to revise the sentence to avoid the problem of agreement: Either Tom is coming or his sisters are. The usual first sign may be either cold symptoms or a headache. See Usage Notes at and/or, either, neither, nor¹.

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or ²  (ôr) Archaic

conj.

Before. Followed by ever or ere: "I doubt he will be dead or ere I come" (Shakespeare).

prep.

Before.

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[Middle English, variant of er, from Old English r, soon, early, and from Old Norse r; see ayer- in Indo-European roots.]

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or ³  (ôr)

n. Heraldry

Gold, represented in heraldic engraving by a white field sprinkled with small dots.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin aurum.]

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OR

abbreviation for

1. (Economics) operations research

2. (Placename) Oregon

3. (Military) Military other ranks

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or¹

conj (coordinating)

1. used to join alternatives apples or pears apples or pears or cheese apples, pears, or cheese

2. used to join rephrasings of the same thing to serve in the army, or rather to fight in the army twelve, or a dozen

3. used to join two alternatives when the first is preceded by either or whether whether it rains or not we'll be there either yes or no

one or two, four or five, etc. a few

or else See else [3]

6. a poetic word for either, whether as the first element in correlatives, with or also preceding the second alternative See also exclusive or, inclusive or

[contraction of other, used to introduce an alternative, changed (through influence of either) from Old English oththe; compare Old High German odar (German oder)]

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or² Archaic

conj

(subordinating; foll by ever or ere) before; when

prep

before

[Old English ār soon; related to Old Norse ār early, Old High German ēr]

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or³

adj

(History / Heraldry) (usually postpositive) Heraldry of the metal gold

[via French from Latin aurum gold]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	OR - a state in northwestern United States on the Pacific Beaver State, Oregon Pacific Northwest - a region of the northwestern United States usually including Washington and Oregon and sometimes southwestern British Columbia Crater Lake National Park - a national park in Oregon having the deepest lake in the United States in the crater of an extinct volcano U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776 Bend - a town in central Oregon at the eastern foot of the Cascade Range Eugene - a city in western Oregon on the Willamette River; site of a university Klamath Falls - a town in southern Oregon near the California border Medford - a town in southwestern Oregon; a summer resort Portland - freshwater port and largest city in Oregon; located in northwestern Oregon on the Willamette River which divides the city into east and west sections; renowned for its beautiful natural setting among the mountains capital of Oregon, Salem - capital of the state of Oregon in the northwestern part of the state on the Willamette River Klamath, Klamath River - a river flowing southwest from Oregon through northern California to the Pacific Ocean Snake River, Snake - a tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition Willamette, Willamette River - a river in western Oregon that flows north into the Columbia River near Portland
	2.	OR - a room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations; "great care is taken to keep the operating rooms aseptic" operating room, operating theater, operating theatre, surgery hospital room - a room in a hospital for the care of patients

Translations

or [ɔːʳ] CONJ

1. (giving alternative) → o; (before o-, ho-) → u; (between numerals) → ó
would you like tea or coffee? → ¿quieres té o café?
seven or eight → siete u ocho
men or women → mujeres u hombres
15 or 16 → 15 ó 16
let me go or I'll scream! → ¡suélteme, o me pongo a gritar!
hurry up or you'll miss the bus → date prisa, que vas a perder el autobús
rain or no rain, you've got to go → con lluvia o sin lluvia, tienes que ir
not ... or → no ... ni ...
he didn't write or telephone → no escribió ni telefoneó
I don't eat meat or fish → no como carne ni pescado
she can't dance or sing → no sabe bailar ni cantar
20 or so → unos veinte, veinte más o menos
an hour or so → una hora más o menos
without relatives or friends → sin parientes ni amigos
see also either C
see also else 4

2. (= that is) → es decir
botany, or the science of plants → botánica, es decir la ciencia que estudia las plantas
or rather → o mejor dicho ..., o más bien ...

OR

"U" and "ó" instead of "o"

• While or is usually translated by o, use u instead before words beginning with o and ho:

...two or three photos... ...dos o tres fotos... ...for one reason or another... ...por un motivo u otro... She was accused of parricide or homicide Se le acusó de parricidio u homicidio

• Write ó instead of o between numerals to prevent confusion with zero:

...5 or 6... ...5 ó 6...

! Remember to use ni with negatives.

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or [ˈɔː^r](STRONG) [ə^r] conj

(gen) → ou
Would you like tea or coffee? → Voulez-vous du thé ou du café?
or not → ou non
Believe it or not → Croyez-le ou non
Like it or not → Que cela vous plaise ou non ...
whether or not → si oui ou non
Whether or not that is the case → si oui ou non c'est le cas

(= otherwise) → ou
Hurry up or you'll miss the bus → Dépêche-toi, ou tu vas rater le bus.
or else (= otherwise) → sinon
... or else! (in threat) → sinon ...
Give me the money, or else! → Donne-moi l'argent, sinon ...

(with negative) not ... or → ni ... ni
I don't eat meat or fish → Je ne mange ni viande, ni poisson.
He hasn't seen or heard anything → Il n'a rien vu ni entendu.

or at least → ou pour le moins

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OR

(Sport) abbr of Olympic record

(Med) abbr of operating room → OP m

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or¹

n (Her) → Gold nt

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or²

conj

→ oder; (with neg) → noch; he could not read or write → er konnte weder lesen noch schreiben; without food or water → ohne Nahrung oder Wasser; in a day/month or two → in ein bis or oder zwei Tagen/Monaten; I’m coming, ready or not → ich komme!; we’re going outside, rain or no rain → wir gehen nach draußen, ob es nun regnet oder nicht

(= that is) → (oder) auch; the Lacedaemonians, or Spartans → die Lazedämonier, (oder) auch Spartaner; Rhodesia, or rather, Zimbabwe → Rhodesien, beziehungsweise Simbabwe

(= otherwise) → sonst; you’d better go or (else) you’ll be late → gehen Sie jetzt besser, sonst kommen Sie zu spät; you’d better do it or else! → tu das lieber, sonst …!

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or [ɔːʳ] conj (gen) → o
or rather → o meglio, o piuttosto
or else → oppure, se no, altrimenti
do it or else! (fam) → fallo, altrimenti...!
20 or so → circa 20
let me go or I'll scream! → lasciami andare o mi metto a urlare!
without relatives or friends → senza (né) parenti né amici
he can't read or write → non sa né leggere né scrivere
he hasn't seen or heard anything → non ha (né) visto né sentito niente

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or [ɔːʳ] conj (gen) → o
or rather → o meglio, o piuttosto
or else → oppure, se no, altrimenti
do it or else! (fam) → fallo, altrimenti...!
20 or so → circa 20
let me go or I'll scream! → lasciami andare o mi metto a urlare!
without relatives or friends → senza (né) parenti né amici
he can't read or write → non sa né leggere né scrivere
he hasn't seen or heard anything → non ha (né) visto né sentito niente

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or

conj or [oː]

1 used to show an alternative Is that your book or is it mine? of أو или nebo eller oder ή o või یا vai ou אוֹ या, अथवा ili vagy, különben atau eða o または … 또는 ar, arba vai atau of eller albo, czy też ou sau или alebo ali ili eller หรือ veya, ya da 或者 або, чи يا hoặc; hay 或者

2 because if not Hurry or you'll be late. of, anders وَإلا، وإذا ما или jinak ellers oder αλλιώς, ειδάλλως sino või وگرنه tai sinon אַחֶרֶת अथवा ili, u protivnom vagy kalau tidak eða, annars altrimenti さもないと …하거나 그렇지 않으면 … kitaip, nes vai arī kalau tidak of ellers albo senão sau (altfel) а то, или lebo sicer ili eller också, annars หรือว่า yoksa, aksi takdirde 否則 або, чи ورنہ nếu không 否则

or so

about; approximately I bought a dozen or so (books). of تَقْريباً، حوالي около přibližně eller deromkring oder so περίπου más o menos umbes تقریباً noin environ בְּעֵרֶך या कुछ इतना ही, या लगभग otprilike körülbelül kira-kira um það bil circa だいたい 대략 apie, maždaug vai apmēram tā lebih kurang ongeveer sånn omtrent lub, około mais ou menos sau cam aşa ceva около этого, приблизительно približne približno približno eller så ประมาณ aşağı yukarı, yaklaşık 大約 приблизно, близько цього تقريباً khoảng 大约

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OR → أو nebo eller oder ή o tai ou ili oppure または 또는 of eller lub ou или eller หรือ ya hoặc 或者