either
one or the other of two
How often you will meet it
Rank 422 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 47,593 times across 155,168 chapters — 0.023% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 500 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
determiner
- one or the other of two
conjunction
- used before the first of two choices
either in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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This well goes with two buckets: I must tend The pouring out of either.
The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1
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The girl, who had not forgotten, either, went to a luncheon and the theatre after.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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The love of mimetic representation, either as a participant or as a spectator, is an ineradicable instinct of childhood and adolescence.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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And in a word, I put my whole stress upon this, "Either that I must meet with some ship or certainly perish."
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1
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The queen's advisers determined to move first to Wells, as from that point they could either go north or march upon London.
A Knight of the White Cross · G. A. (George Alfred) Henty · Chapter 1