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

Yet on Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan also reemerges as a restless, sometimes cordial, often corrosive analyst, agreeing at last to engage—if not fully to explain—the whats, hows, and, possibly whys of his creative life. —Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026

Roughly 7,000 people live in the Greenfield neighborhood of the city and most, if not all of them, were smiling a little harder on Tuesday after watching McCarthy be introduced as the head coach of his hometown football team. —Cassidy Wood, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026

Securing my spot as an icon, if not a legend. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026

Expect a Long Hearing Before specific presentations and questioning began, Homendy previewed the day ahead which is expected to take well into the afternoon if not the early evening. —Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for if not

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot