all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing

ˌȯl-ər-ˈnə-thiŋ

1

: all-or-none

2

a

: accepting no less than everything

he's an all-or-nothing perfectionist

b

: risking everything

an all-or-nothing combat strategy

Examples of all-or-nothing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If not quite the all-or-nothing approach of President Donald Trump’s proposal earlier this week, then at least an accelerated phase one release program and an extended release beyond the deadline for the start of phase two. —Greg Palkot, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2025

Sides took ‘an all-or-nothing position’ CT divided over Trump transgender ban in girls, women's sports. —James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 9 Feb. 2025

These methods also help combat the all-or-nothing thinking that can make a task seem too daunting, leading to feelings of paralysis, experts said. —Kristen Rogers, CNN, 27 Jan. 2025

There are committed performances, and there’s Kidman’s all-or-nothing interpretation of a CEO diving headfirst into an affair with a younger man in Halina Reijn’s conversation-starter of a romantic melodrama. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for all-or-nothing

• nothing

Medical Definition

all-or-nothing

adjective

all-or-noth·​ing -ˈnəth-iŋ 

: all-or-none