or what?

or what

1. Added as a tag to the end of a sentence to emphasize one's uncertainty about something. A: "The boss said that they needed to make a lot of layoffs." B: "So are you out of a job, or what?" I can't tell if you're just trying to mess with me or what, but this is not funny at all.

2. Said as a retort to a vague threat, asking what exactly will happen if one does not comply or obey. A: "You had better stop looking into the boss's financial records!" B: "Oh yeah? Or what?" A: "Or you might find yourself taking a long walk off a short pier, that's what!"

or what?

Added to a yes-no question as a means of emphasizing that "yes" is the correct answer. Wow, do you two make a cute couple or what? I got you those concert tickets you were yammering on about. Am I good brother, or what?

or what?

a way of adding emphasis to a yes-or-no question the speaker has asked. (In effect, if it wasn't what I said, what is it?) Bob: Now, is this a fine day or what? John: Looks okay to me. Tom: Look at Bill and Mary. Do they make a fine couple or what? Bob: Sure, they look great.

or what?

A phrase following a statement that adds emphasis or suggests an option. For example, in Is this a good movie or what? the phrase asks for confirmation or agreement. However, it also may ask for an alternative, as in Is this book a biography or what? In the 1700s it generally asked for a choice among a series of options, and it still has this function, as in In what does John excel? in imagination? in reasoning powers? in mathematics? or what?

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

or ˈwhat

(spoken)
1 used to emphasize your opinion: Is he stupid or what?
2 used when you are not sure about something: Come on! Are we going or what?

or what?

phr. or what else can it be? (Part of a special formula that asks if something is a good example or specimen of something. The expected answer is yes. The question “Is this an X or what?” means “If this isn’t a really great X, what is it then?”) Look at what I am wearing! Is that a great jacket or what?

or what

Informal Used as an intensive at the end of a question: Is he crazy, or what? Are you a genius, or what?

or what?

Isn’t that so? This rhetorical question always follows a statement and serves either to emphasize its truth or indicate that its answer is obvious. For example, “Is this fun or what?” says emphatically that this pursuit is fun. As a slangy usage, it dates from the 1960s. However, the phrase can also be the last choice among a series of options, and this usage dates from the mid-1700s. For example, a diary entry by John Adams in 1766 stated, “In what is this man conspicuous? in reasoning? imagination? in painting? in the pathetic? or what?”