IF Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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if

[if]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

conjunction

in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that.
Sing if you want to. Stay indoors if it rains. I'll go if you do.
even though.
an enthusiastic if small audience.
whether.
He asked if I knew Spanish.
(used to introduce an exclamatory phrase).
If only Dad could see me now!
when or whenever.
If it was raining, we had to play inside.

noun

a supposition; uncertain possibility.
The future is full of ifs.
a condition, requirement, or stipulation.
There are too many ifs in his agreement.

Or IF

Radio.

intermediate frequency.

/ ɪ�� /

conjunction

in case that, or on condition that
if you try hard it might work
if he were poor, would you marry him?
used to introduce an indirect question. In this sense, if approaches the meaning of whether
even though
an attractive if awkward girl
1. used to introduce expressions of desire, with only
  if I had only known
2. used to introduce exclamations of surprise, dismay, etc
  if this doesn't top everything!
as it would be if; as though
he treats me as if I were junior to him

noun

an uncertainty or doubt
the big if is whether our plan will work at all
a condition or stipulation
I won't have any ifs or buts

abbreviation

intermediate frequency

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Usage

If meaning “whether,” as in I haven't decided if I'll go, is sometimes criticized, but the usage is long established as standard.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of if¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of yif, Old English gif, gef; akin to Old Norse ef “if,” Gothic ibai “whether,” Old High German iba “condition, stipulation”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of if¹

Old English gif; related to Old Saxon ef if, Old High German iba whether, if

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

ifs, ands, or buts, reservations, restrictions, or excuses.
I want that job finished today, and no ifs, ands, or buts.

In addition to the idioms beginning with if, also see as if; damned if I do, damned if I don't; make as if to; no ifs or buts; nothing if not; (if) push comes to shove; what if.

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Synonym Study

If, provided, providing imply a condition on which something depends. If is general. It may be used to indicate suppositions or hypothetical conditions (often involving doubt or uncertainty): If you like, we can go straight home. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone. If may mean even though: If I am wrong, you are not right. It may mean whenever: If I do not understand, I ask questions. Provided always indicates some stipulation: I will subscribe ten dollars provided ( on the condition ) that you do, too. Provided he goes, we can go along. Providing means the same as provided, that is, just in case some certain thing should happen: We will buy the house, providing ( provided ) we can get a mortgage.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It felt wonderful, as if my spine were elongating, all the stress draining from my back.

From

But on this particular Friday, at least, I headed into the weekend feeling looser and, if nothing else, an inch or so taller.

From

An opposition senator, Lily Téllez, posted a video on X last week accusing Sheinbaum of emboldening compatriots in the U.S. to “violate the law without consequences, as if it were Mexico,” an assertion echoed by other critics.

From

“If necessary, we are going to mobilize,” declared an animated Sheinbaum, raising her right fist, the image recalling her youthful days as a left-wing student demonstrator.

From

By Joyce Carol Oates Hogarth: 672 pages, $32 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Ieyasu IFA

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