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?

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?