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

There’s nothing like a personalized Kelly to cement one’s status as a trendsetter (the bags, which are named after Grace Kelly, can resell up to tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of dollars depending on the design and rareness), and Kaling’s bold sense of style is very present in her household. —Michelle Lee, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025

One other central, if not overriding, purpose of Holocaust remembrance, however, must be to think of the millions who were annihilated not as impersonal statistics but as individuals with names, faces, identities, dreams, and emotions. —Menachem Z. Rosensaft, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025

Ware knows his defense is every bit as important, if not more so. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2025

Rhodes and Amin say that Rhodes encouraged Amin to seek help at a recovery center, if not through rearrest. —Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2025