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

Crosby would probably have even more if not for the fact that the NHL doesn’t allow teams to play an opponent more than four times in a regular season. —Josh Yohe, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025

Loyal to the Emperor, scornful of the aristocracy, and sympathetic to the peasants’ desire for liberation, if not their bloodlust, he is torn between medieval chivalry and modern self-preservation. —Merve Emre, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

The massive and systematic erasure of the subject’s corporeal or cranial profiles under the promises of collectivized universal freedom has suddenly acquired the features of the fascist unifier, if not yet worn with the pride of a helmet, then at least with that of an armband or a brassard. —Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025

Where to Stay Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise The most iconic hotel in the Lake Louise area (if not one of the most iconic hotels in the world) is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 1 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for if not

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