if

Examples

• All

• What will you do if it rains tomorrow?

• What happens if I make that a four?

• What can parents do if their kids are lost?

  andrew gold | heretics.

• I guess I wanted to know if it was worth it.

  I'm Not Gay : A Musical (2023)

• You know what happens if they get in now?

  Straw Dogs (1971)

• Father, is it all right if I run along now?

  Double Indemnity (1944)

• I'll help you for real if you want.

  Jacket (2018)

• In either case, these students would have fewer, if any, opportunities to elect music courses.

  Academic text (2011)

• What would happen if we did not pass TARP?

• If this thing explodes, it could turn everything invisible.

  AlieNation (2022)

Idioms

A

as if

∞ 2.1

In a way that makes something seem true though it may not be

I

if not

344 2.9

Saying something may be even more true than first said

I

if only

31 3.0

To wish the past had been different because you regret it

N

nothing if not

• Formal

19 7.9

Showing a particular quality very strongly

I

if you say so

• Informal

15 7.7

Accept what someone says while showing doubt or little interest

I

if need be

11 3.9

When it is necessary to do something

I

if it's all the same

4 6.5

When no one likes one choice more than another

A

as if there were no tomorrow

• Informal

1 8.2

Act with great energy and not worry about the future

B

big if true

• Texting

9.2

Something that would be very important if it is true

C

catch me if you can

• Informal

7.0

Challenge someone to try to reach or pass you

D

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't

• NSFW

9.9

A situation where any choice leads to trouble or criticism

D

doomed if you do, doomed if you don't

• Informal

9.3

Any choice you make leads to bad results

L

to look as if she had been dragged through a hedge backwards

• UK

9.9

Seem very untidy and messy

I

if I'm lying, I'm dying

• Informal

9.9

To say firmly that what you say is true

I

if it bleeds, it leads

• Literature

9.4

News that is violent or shocking gets more attention and appears first

I

if it had teeth

9.9

Very sharp or harsh in a way that would hurt someone if it could

I

if looks could kill

• Informal

8.9

A very angry stare that seems like it could hurt someone

I

if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle

• Offensive

9.9

A phrase people say to show talking about impossible what-ifs is pointless

I

if the shoe fits, wear it

• Informal

8.7

Accept a criticism if it applies to you

I

if these walls could talk

• Informal

9.1

An idea that a place could tell stories from its past

I

if you know, you know

• Slang

9.9

Only people with the same knowledge or experience understand this

I

I'll be damned if

• NSFW

9.9

A strong way to say you refuse or do not believe something

W

wouldn't shout if a shark bit him

• UK

9.9

A person who is very calm and not easily upset, even in a dangerous situation

Compounds

C

Catch Me If You Can

1 4.1

A 2002 American film by Steven Spielberg starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks

Surface Forms

Etymology