How to Use life-and-death in a Sentence

life-and-death

adjective
  • That was a life-and-death matter during the Cedar fire.
    Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023
  • What about life-and-death situations out on the streets?
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 19 June 2023
  • Between the frigid cold and circling wolves below, the trio make life-and-death decisions to survive.
    Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023
  • Taveras said the bill has life-and-death consequences for children and drivers involved in school bus crashes.
    Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2024
  • What is certain, however, is that the Middle colonies and South Carolina were left with a life-and-death decision to make.
    Time, 3 July 2023
  • Unaware of the life-and-death drama unfolding just feet from them, his parents were relaxing upstairs on the couch.
    Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 12 June 2023
  • Then, the staff got to work picking the ones that best encapsulated the uncertainty and life-and-death feelings of that moment.
    Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2023
  • That necessities come first makes sense: These items can make a life-and-death difference in moments of crisis.
    Ayurella Horn-Muller, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2023
  • These include sustaining a crucial vow of silence plus life-and-death trials by fire and water.
    Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2023
  • But in a war, deepfakes can be used to sow confusion with potentially life-and-death consequences.
    Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The clashing of swords against one another adds suspense as beloved or infamous characters engage in life-and-death battles on screen.
    Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 3 May 2023
  • If the unthinkable became a horrifying reality, if a life-and-death teeter-totter or crushing financial pressure pushed them to the brink, the teen would shoulder the weight of the world.
    Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2023
  • Game controllers have been used in life-and-death situations in combat, and likely will continue to be used in those scenarios for the foreseeable future.
    Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 22 June 2023
  • Healthcare workers and anyone in any industry that deals with life-and-death situations have higher stressors in their daily jobs.
    Hanna Kang, Orange County Register, 20 Jan. 2024
  • At least until a second group of survivors also appeared and told a very different story about what had happened aboard the Wager—one that would lead to life-and-death stakes for one group, if only it could be discerned who was telling the truth.
    The Editors, townandcountrymag.com, 4 Apr. 2023
  • My only real complaint was the subplot where a character spent a couple of episodes locked in a dungeon, but even that felt something of a piece with the rest of a show that does well balancing life-and-death action with quirky comedy.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
  • The eye-popping figure reflects both the high cost of litigation and the fact the crypto world is in a life-and-death struggle with the SEC, whose chairman has adopted a relentlessly hostile posture towards the industry.
    Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 21 Sep. 2023
  • The party’s increasingly draconian efforts to control history prove the potency of this insurgency, which Xi sees as a life-and-death struggle that the party must win at all costs.
    Ian Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 19 Dec. 2023
  • Executives credit this success to the universal themes of growing up, when everything, including first kisses, high school dances and sports competitions, feels life-and-death.
    Gary Coronado, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2023
  • Individuals answering survey questions for a small reward will act more blithely than state leaders making life-and-death choices for their country.
    Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Given this country’s shameful maternal mortality rate, this is quite literally a life-and-death decision.
    Liz Borkowski, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2023
  • The mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life-and-death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and block a nation’s progress to freedom and democracy.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 17 July 2023
  • Howard’s retelling is equally meticulous and emotional, a master class in enveloping the audience into a complicated technological exercise in life-and-death problem-solving.
    Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2023
  • People are fascinated by this pivotal, emotionally complex and literally life-and-death experience.
    Darby Saxbe, The Conversation, 5 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'life-and-death.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: