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Glite Dictionary
now or never

now or never

3.9
Act immediately because there may not be another chance
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ahora o nunca
  • He decided to ask her out, realizing it was now or never.

It's it's really now or never.

Examples

  • It is now or never!

    Let's Do It Again (1975)

  • It's either now or never.

    Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)

  • It's now or never.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • It's now or never.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • You have to submit your application today; it's now or never.

  • With only one day left to register, she knew it was now or never.

Synonyms

no time to waste
vsnow or never
7 3.3

A situation that needs action right away

highlights that this may be the last chance rather than mere urgency

Antonyms

to wait
∞ 1.0

To stay in one place or delay action until something happens

How Urgent

now or never
  • Informal
3.9
now
∞ 1.0
soon
∞ 1.0
sometime
791 2.2

Surface Forms

now or never main

Morphology

now + or + never

The sense 'immediate action is required or there will be no future chance' follows directly from combining 'now' (at the present time) with 'never' (not ever) linked by 'or' to present a binary choice; a B1 learner who knows these words can readily infer this meaning. The construction is compositional, uses very frequent vocabulary, and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so it is immediately comprehensible without prior exposure.

Etymology

Now or never paints a simple picture: imagine the last train leaving or a door about to close — it is now or never, so you must act before the chance is gone. So it means you must do something 'immediately' because there may not be another 'chance'.