ELSE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

View synonyms for

else

[ els ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

other than the persons or things mentioned or implied:
What else could I have done?
in addition to the persons or things mentioned or implied:
Who else was there?
other or in addition (used in the possessive following an indefinite pronoun):
someone else's money.

adverb

if not (usually preceded by or ):
It's a macaw, or else I don't know birds.
in some other way; otherwise:
How else could I have acted?
at some other place or time:
Where else might I find this book?

else

/ ɛ�� /

determiner

in addition; more
there is nobody else here
other; different
where else could he be?

adverb

or else
1. if not, then
  go away or else I won't finish my work today
2. or something terrible will result: used as a threat
  sit down, or else!

Discover More

Grammar Note

The possessive forms of somebody else, everybody else, etc., are somebody else's, everybody else's, the forms somebody's else, everybody's else being considered nonstandard in present-day English. One exception is the possessive for who else, which is occasionally formed as whose else when a noun does not immediately follow: Is this book yours? Whose else could it be? No, it's somebody else's.

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of else¹

before 1000; Middle English, Old English elles (cognate with Old High German elles ), equivalent to ell- other (cognate with Gothic aljis, Latin alius, Old Irish aile Greek á��ǲ�, Armenian ayl other; eldritch ) + -es -s 1

Discover More

51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of else¹

Old English elles, genitive of el- strange, foreign; related to Old High German eli- other, Gothic alja, Latin alius, Greek allos

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

or else, or suffer the consequences:
Do what I say, or else.

More idioms and phrases containing else

see in someone's (else's) shoes ; or else ; something else ; something else again .

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“L.A. is where everything came to fruition for us. We built a bond and everything else was built to follow.”

From

The coach discusses with them the value in both success and failure, creating a belief system, an unyielding dedication to practice — whether it’s sports or something else.

From

Like with eating disorders, many people with muscle dysmorphia may end up originally seeking help for something else before the topic of dysmorphia arises.

From

"I didn't expect to win. You forget about everything, and you're just in the puzzle, I didn't notice anyone else in the room at all," she said.

From

Det Supt Neil Fuller said officers were carrying out "several lines of inquiry" but the force has not indicated at this stage whether officers have made any arrests or were searching for anybody else.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse