if not

idiom

1

—used to talk about the negative result or effect of something

You should study. If not, you won't pass the test.

2

—used to express surprise about meeting someone when it is not expected

So I went to the game and who should I see there if not my old friend Tom!

Examples of if not in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In March 1983, on a ski trip to Snowmass, Colo., with his wife and several of the company’s top engineers, Mr. Bell suffered a massive heart attack in his ski chalet and might have died if not for the efforts of Bob Puffer, a company vice president, who revived him with CPR. —Glenn Rifkin, New York Times, 21 May 2024

In many if not most such cases, the artist or their estate got nothing: These items ended up in the hands of people who knew how to monetize them, and the profits went to the seller and the auction house, which commonly takes 20-30% of the sale price. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 21 May 2024