else

1 of 2

adverb

ˈel(t)s How to pronounce else (audio)
Synonyms of elsenext
1
a
: in a different manner or place or at a different time
how else could he have acted
here and nowhere else
b
: in an additional manner or place or at an additional time
where else is gold found
2
: if not : otherwise
leave or else you'll be sorry
—used absolutely to express a threat
do what I tell you or else

else

2 of 2

adjective

: other:
a
: being different in identity
it must have been somebody else
b
: being in addition
what else did he say?

Synonyms

Adverb

Adjective

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of else in a Sentence

Adverb We decided to go someplace else for dinner. if you could do it over again, how else would you have done it? Adjective is there anything else you would like to add to your list?
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adverb
First Watch is encouraging guests to share the cinnamon roll with someone else — anyone in need of a smile. —Cheryl V. Jackson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Nov. 2024 Premises Liability and Catastrophic Injuries: Injuries occurring on someone else's property due to unsafe conditions or catastrophic injuries that result in permanent disability are also areas where personal injury law applies. —Chris Gallagher, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
One major character drops out of the picture only to show up later, briefly, as a dead body in the night, anonymous to everyone else onscreen but not to us. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 June 2024 Kristy Walker—Fortune The pandemic had sent the startup’s delivery business soaring, but as lockdowns eased and customers stopped being willing to pay high delivery fees to have someone else shop on their behalf, Instacart needed to develop other ways to make money. —Maria Aspan, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for else 

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English elles, going back to Old English elles, adverbial use of genitive singular neuter of elle "other," going back to Germanic *alja- "other" (whence, with parallel formation, Old High German alles, elles "else," Gothic aljis), going back to Indo-European *h2el-i̯o-, whence also Latin alius "other," Old Irish aile, Middle Welsh eil "second," Greek állos "other," Armenian ayl, Tocharian B allek "other, another"

Note: Excepting the frozen genitival constructions represented by Old English elles (cf. owiht elles, elles awiht, literally "aught of other" = "aught else"), the pronoun *alja- is marginally attested in Germanic languages outside of compounds (as Old English elcor, ellicor "else," Old High German ellihor "further," Old Norse elligar, ellar, ella "otherwise") and the initial element el- "other, foreign" (cf. Old English eleland "foreign country," Old High German elilenti "foreign"). G.E. Dunkel (Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme) accepts the primary character of Indo-European *a and regards *ali̯o- as a thematization of *al-i "elsewhere." He rejects the presence of a laryngeal because *l-i, which he considers a variant of *al-i, shows no laryngeal in Greek lī́ān "exceedingly, very, too" and pálin "back" (where the a is not lengthened).

Adjective

Middle English elles, going back to Old English — more at else entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of else was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing else

Dictionary Entries Near else

El Salvador

else

elseways

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Else.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/else. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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Kids Definition

else

1 of 2 adverb
ˈels How to pronounce else (audio)
1
: in a different or additional manner or place or at a different time
how else could it be done
where else can we meet
2
: if the facts are or were different : if not : otherwise
leave or else you'll be sorry

else

2 of 2 adjective
1
: being different in identity
somebody else
2
: being in addition
what else

More from Merriam-Webster on else

Nglish: Translation of else for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of else for Arabic Speakers

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