What does “else” mean?
- 1
adverbin addition to or different from the person, thing or place already mentioned
Is there anything else you need?
- 2
adverbused after “or” to mean “if not”, often as a warning
Hurry up, or else we’ll miss the train.
Else at a glance
- Part of speech
- adverb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /ɛls/ · ELS
How to use “else” correctly
“Else” comes after words like “someone”, “anything”, “where” and “what”: “someone else”, not “else someone”. The possessive is “someone else’s”.
Common phrases with “else”
- something else
- someone else
- or else
- what else
“else” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- actually adverbA2used to say what is really true, often when it is surprising
- especially adverbA2more than usual or more than others; in particular
- even adverbA2used to show that something is surprising or more than expected
- exactly adverbA2completely correct, with no difference at all
- instead adverbA2in place of someone or something else
- quite adverbA2fairly, more than a little but not very
- also adverbA1in addition; as well
- how adverbA1used to ask about the way something is done or happens