life-or-death
adjective/ˌlaɪf ɔː ˈdeθ/
/ˌlaɪf ɔːr ˈdeθ/
(also life-and-death)
[only before noun]- extremely serious, especially when there is a situation in which people might die
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life-or-death
Definition of life-or-death adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary