life or death
/laɪf ɔr dɛθ/
adjective
- Involving the possibility of death; extremely serious or urgent.
- The climbers knew their next move was a life-or-death decision.
- The soldier faced a life-or-death choice in the heat of battle.
- Doctors in the emergency room deal with life-or-death situations daily.
- Of the utmost importance; critical to the outcome.
- The election was seen as a life-or-death struggle for the party's future.
- For the endangered species, habitat protection is a life-or-death issue.
- Getting the funding right is a life-or-death matter for the project.