if need be
idiom
: if something becomes necessary
You can always call me at home if need be.
We'll leave without them if need be.
Examples of if need be in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Our teachers will, if need be, even kneel and pray alongside you.
—
Stephen Tave, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Tunguska is the sort of event that has inspired scientists to create the field of planetary defense to find and study—and, if need be, try to deflect—asteroids and comets that might be on an impact course with Earth.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025
Games 4 and 5 of the Fall Classic will be played at Dodger Stadium, and if need be, the series will head back to Toronto for Games 6 and 7.
—Valentina Martinez, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Ruiz Massieu said the food agency is working on getting additional assets like helicopters from Colombia to pre-position, if need be, in Haiti to respond to a storm hit.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
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Stephen Tave, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Tunguska is the sort of event that has inspired scientists to create the field of planetary defense to find and study—and, if need be, try to deflect—asteroids and comets that might be on an impact course with Earth.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025
Games 4 and 5 of the Fall Classic will be played at Dodger Stadium, and if need be, the series will head back to Toronto for Games 6 and 7.
—Valentina Martinez, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
Ruiz Massieu said the food agency is working on getting additional assets like helicopters from Colombia to pre-position, if need be, in Haiti to respond to a storm hit.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for if need be
Cite this Entry
“If need be.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/if%20need%20be. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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