adjective
also life-or-death | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷
: involving or culminating in life or death : having vital importance as if involving life or death
engaged in a life-and-death struggle — Fitzroy Maclean
the desperate life-and-death battle between workers and owners — Yale Review
the life-and-death power of the Senate Appropriations Committee — Douglass Cater