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

Early adoption can be risky if not done with clear objectives and a deep understanding of the technology's capabilities and limitations. —Petr Marek, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025

These were studied and, if not intentionally, were thought about as works of scale, as were the patterns on a butterfly wing, which are composed of millions of scales, grandiose designs developed over eons. —Alexis Wright, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025

In a post-pandemic world, such attention to art’s medicinal properties has broad relevance, but to foreground only this of art’s many virtues, while couching this take in the language of tech entrepreneurs, should raise eyebrows if not alarm bells regarding its pure instrumentalization. —Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025

The hearty casserole serves 12 (if not more, when serving with sides), and looks stunning when pulled out of the oven, bubbling and golden brown. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 31 Dec. 2024