make or break
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
NEW ~ YORK – The upcoming G-20 meeting is a make - or - break event.
Differential expansion with increasing temperature causes the compound rod to bend and make or break electrical contact.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “Irreversible binomial” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29).
Common questions
What does “make or break” mean?
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
Is “make or break” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.