else


Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia.

else

 (ĕls)
adj.
1. Other; different: Ask somebody else.
2. Additional; more: Would you like anything else?
adv.
In a different or additional time, place, or manner: I always do it this way and I don't know how else it could be done. Where else do you want to go besides Miami?
Idiom:
or else
1. Used to indicate an alternative: We need to eat the leftovers or else buy more food.
2. Used to indicate negative consequences that will result if an action is not followed: We need to pay the bill, or else the electricity will be shut off.
3. Used after a command or demand to make a threat: Be there on time, or else!

[Middle English elles, from Old English; see al- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Else is often used redundantly in combination with prepositions such as but, except, and besides. The sentence No one else but Sam saw the accident would thus be better without else. · When a pronoun is followed by else, the possessive form is generally written with the 's following else: That must be someone else's (not someone's else) book. Both who else's and whose else are in use, but not whose else's: Who else's book could it have been? Whose else could it have been? · Sometimes the or is dropped from or else so that else functions as a conjunction, as in George Eliot's "My brother is poor, and I want to look as much like him as I can, else he may feel distant from me." This usage is rare in Standard American English, however, and sounds informal or dialectal. See Usage Note at who.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

else

(ɛls)
determiner (postpositive; used after an indefinite pronoun or an interrogative)
1. in addition; more: there is nobody else here.
2. other; different: where else could he be?.
adv
or else
a. if not, then: go away or else I won't finish my work today.
b. or something terrible will result: used as a threat: sit down, or else!.
[Old English elles, genitive of el- strange, foreign; related to Old High German eli- other, Gothic alja, Latin alius, Greek allos]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

else

(ɛls)

adj.
1. other than those or that mentioned: What else could I do?
2. in addition to those mentioned: Who else was there?
3. other (used in the possessive following an indefinite pronoun): someone else's money.
adv.
4. if not (usu. prec. by or): It's a macaw, or else I don't know birds.
5. otherwise: How else could I have acted?
6. at another place or time: Where else should I look?
Idioms:
or else, or suffer the consequences: Do what I say, or else.
[before 1000; Middle English, Old English elles (c. Old High German elles) =ell- other (c. Gothic aljis, Latin alius, Old Irish aile, Greek állos other) + -es -s1]
usage: The possessive forms of somebody else, everybody else, etc., are somebody else's, everybody else's, etc., the forms somebody's else, everybody's else now being rare. One exception is the possessive for who else, occasionally formed as whose else (instead of who else's) when a noun does not immediately follow: Is this book yours? Whose else could it be?
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

else

1. used with 'someone', 'somewhere', and 'anything'

You use else after words such as someone, somewhere, or anything to refer to another person, place, or thing, without saying which one.

She had borrowed someone else's hat.
Let's go somewhere else.
I had nothing else to do.
2. used with wh-words

You can use else after most wh-words. For example, if you ask 'What else did they do?', you are asking what other things were done besides the things that have already been mentioned.

What else do I need to do?
Who else was there?
Why else would he be so angry?
Where else could they live in such comfort?
How else was I to explain what had happened?

Don't use 'else' after 'which'.

3. 'or else'

Or else is a conjunction with a similar meaning to or. You use it to introduce the second of two possibilities.

She is either very brave or else she must be very stupid.
It's likely that someone gave her a lift, or else that she took a taxi.

You also use or else when you are saying that something bad will happen if someone does not do a particular thing.

We need to hurry or else we'll be late.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
Translations
آخَرأيْضا، آخَر
jiný
andenandetellers
muumuutenmuutointoinen
ostali
egyéb
annar; öîru vísi; annars
そのほかに
그 밖에
darkur nors kiturpriešingu atveju
bez tamcitsvēl
annars
อื่นๆ
khác

else

[els] ADV
1. (after pron)
all elsetodo lo demás
anybody elsecualquier otro
anybody else would do itcualquier otro lo haría
I don't know anyone else hereaquí no conozco a nadie más
anything else anything else is impossiblecualquier otra cosa es imposible
have you anything else to tell me?¿tienes algo más que decirme?
anything else, sir? (in shop) → ¿algo más, señor?
anywhere elseen cualquier otro sitio
everyone elsetodos los demás
everything elsetodo lo demás
nobody elsenadie más
nobody else knowsno lo sabe nadie más
nothing elsenada más
there was nothing else I could dono había otro remedio
nothing else, thank you (in shop) → nada más, gracias, es todo, gracias
nowhere elseen ningún otro sitio
somebody elseotra persona
somebody else's coatel abrigo de otro
there's somebody else, isn't there?hay alguien más, ¿verdad?
something elseotra cosa (= wonderful) → estupendo
somewhere elseen otro sitio, en otra parte
2. (after interrog)
how else?¿de qué otra manera?
what else ...?¿qué más ...?
where else ...?¿en qué otro sitio ...?, ¿dónde más ...? (LAm)
where else can he have gone?¿a qué otro sitio habrá podido ir?
who else ...?¿quién si no ...?, ¿quién más ...?
who else could do it as well as you?¿quién si no or quién más podría hacerlo tan bien como usted?
3. (adv of quantity)
there is little else to be donepoco se puede hacer aparte de eso
he said that, and much elsedijo eso y mucho más
4. (= otherwise)
or elsesi no
red or else blackrojo o bien negro
or else I'll do itsi no, lo hago yo
keep quiet or else go awaycállate o vete
do as I say, or else! (expressing threat) → ¡haz lo que te digo o si no verás!
5. (standing alone) how could I have done it else?¿de qué otro modo hubiera podido hacerlo?
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

else

[ˈɛls] advd'autre
something else → quelque chose d'autre, autre chose
somebody else → quelqu'un d'autre
somewhere else → ailleurs, autre part
anywhere else → autre part
everywhere else → partout ailleurs
everyone else, everybody else → tous les autres
nothing else → rien d'autre
anything else
I don't want anything else → Je ne veux rien d'autre.
Would you like anything else? → Désirez-vous autre chose?
Is there anything else I can do? → Est-ce que je peux faire quelque chose d'autre?
nobody else → personne d'autre
what else? → quoi d'autre?
where else? → à quel autre endroit?
little else → pas grand-chose d'autre
or else (= otherwise) → sinon; (threatening)ou alors
if nothing else → au moins
above all else → avant tout
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

else

adv
(after pron) → andere(r, s); anybody else would have done itjeder andere hätte es gemacht; is there anybody else there? (in addition) → ist sonst (noch) jemand da?; since John doesn’t want it, does anybody else want it?da John es nicht will, will jemand anders es haben?; somebody elsesonst jemand, jemand anders; is there somebody else?, she askedist da jemand anders?, fragte sie; I’d prefer something elseich möchte lieber etwas anderes; I’d prefer anything elsealles andere wäre mir lieber; have you anything else to say?haben Sie sonst noch etwas zu sagen?; do you find this species anywhere else?findet man die Gattung sonst wo or auch anderswo?; but they haven’t got anywhere else to goaber sie können sonst nirgends anders hingehen; this is somebody else’s umbrelladieser Schirm gehört jemand anders; something elseetwas anderes, sonst etwas; that car is something else (inf)das Auto ist einfach Spitze (inf); if all else failswenn alle Stricke reißen; above all elsevor allen Dingen; will there be anything else, sir? (in shop) → darf es sonst noch etwas sein?; (butler) → haben Sie sonst noch Wünsche?; everyone/everything elsealle anderen/alles andere; everywhere elseüberall sonst
somewhere or someplace (esp US) elsewoanders, anderswo; (with motion) → woandershin, anderswohin; from somewhere elseanderswoher, woandersher, von woanders
(after pron, neg) nobody else, no one elsesonst niemand, niemand anders; nobody else understoodsonst hat es niemand verstanden, niemand anders hat es verstanden; nothing elsesonst nichts, nichts anderes; nothing else would be good enoughalles andere wäre nicht gut genug; what do you want? — nothing else, thank youwas möchten Sie? — danke, nichts weiter; that this is a result of the cold and nothing elsedass dies allein auf die Kälte zurückzuführen ist; if nothing else, you’ll enjoy itauf jeden Fall wird es dir Spaß machen; there’s nothing else for it but to …da gibt es keinen anderen Ausweg, als zu …; nowhere elsesonst nirgends or nirgendwo, nirgendwo anders; (with motion) → sonst nirgendwohin, nirgendwo anders hin; there’s not much else or there’s little else we can dowir können kaum etwas anderes tun; I can think of little elseich kann fast an nichts anderes mehr denken
(after interrog) where else?wo sonst?, wo anders?; who else?wer sonst?; who else but John could have done a thing like that?wer anders als John hätte so etwas tun können?; what else?was sonst?; how else can I do it?wie kann ich es denn sonst or anders machen?; what else could I have done?was hätte ich sonst tun können?
(adv of quantity) they sell books and toys and much else (Brit) → sie führen Bücher, Spielzeug und vieles andere; there is little else to be doneda bleibt nicht viel zu tun übrig
(= otherwise, if not)sonst, andernfalls; do it now (or) else you’ll be punishedtu es jetzt, sonst setzt es Strafe or oder es setzt Strafe; do it or else …!mach das, sonst or oder …!; he’s either a genius or else he’s completely mader ist entweder ein Genie oder aber völlig verrückt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

else

[ɛls] adv
a. (other) → altro
anybody else would have done it → chiunque altro l'avrebbe fatto
is it anybody else's? → è di qualcun altro?
I'd prefer anything else rather than ... → preferirei qualsiasi altra cosa piuttosto che...
is there anything else I can do? → posso fare qualcos'altro?
anything else, sir? (shop assistant) → desidera altro, signore?
I'd go anywhere else but there → andrei ovunque fuorché lì
have you tried anywhere else? → hai provato da qualche altra parte?
everyone else → tutti gli altri
everything else → tutto il resto
everywhere else → in qualsiasi altro luogo
nobody else → nessun altro/nessun'altra
nothing else → nient'altro
nothing else, thank you (in shop) → è tutto, grazie
nowhere else → nessun altro posto
I went nowhere else → non sono andato in nessun altro posto
somebody else → qualcun altro/qualcun'altra
something else → qualcos'altro
it's something else! (fam) → è qualcosa di speciale!
somewhere else → da qualche altra parte, altrove
who/what/where/how else? → chi/che/dove/come altro?
where else? → in quale altro luogo?
little else → poco altro
there is little else to be done → rimane ben poco da fare
he said that, and much else → ha detto questo e altro ancora
b. (otherwise) or elsealtrimenti
keep quiet or else go away → stai zitto, altrimenti vai via
do as I say, or else! (fam) → fai come ti dico, se no vedi!
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

else

(els) adjective, adverb
besides; other than that already mentioned. What else can I do? Can we go anywhere else?; He took someone else's pencil.
ˌelseˈwhere adverb
in, or to, another place; somewhere or anywhere else. You must look elsewhere if you want a less tiring job.
or else
otherwise. He must have missed the train – or else he's ill.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

else

آخَر jiný anden anderer αλλιώς más muu autrement ostali altrimenti そのほかに 그 밖에 anders ellers inaczej em vez de, mais еще annars อื่นๆ daha başka khác 另外
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

else

a. otro-a; más;
anyone ___alguien más;
anything ___algo más;
nothing ___nada más;
Who___ needs help?úQuién más necesita ayuda?
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
or is she somebody else's pretty wife run away with somebody else's man?
Having ridden up to Nicholas, Ilagin raised his beaver cap and said he much regretted what had occurred and would have the man punished who had allowed himself to seize a fox hunted by someone else's borzois.
Pontellier to define to his own satisfaction or any one else's wherein his wife failed in her duty toward their children.
They've got to have their things, like anybody else. You see, yourself, that its clothes was turned to ghost-stuff.
But, do you know, they interest me more than the blind conformity to tradition--somebody else's tradition--that I see among our own friends.
"He's got fifteen already, and everybody's else's promised, so there's no use in the rest of us starting to collect, too.
To save something toward the repayment of those creditors was the object toward which he was now bending all his thoughts and efforts; and under the influence of this all-compelling demand of his nature, the somewhat profuse man, who hated to be stinted or to stint any one else in his own house, was gradually metamorphosed into the keen-eyed grudger of morsels.
It is awful to be at somebody else's beck and call."
failed to obtain her recognition, also on temperamental grounds - either because they bored her, or else because they stood in the way of her scorns and sympathies.
Everybody was walking about St Peter's and the Vatican on somebody else's cork legs, and straining every visible object through somebody else's sieve.
And plainly, too, they were a childlike and innocent lot; telling lies of the stateliest pattern with a most gentle and winning naivety, and ready and willing to listen to anybody else's lie, and believe it, too.
That was somebody else's whoop, or else I was turned around.