AskDefine | Define if

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User Contributed Dictionary

English

Etymology

ġif.

Pronunciation

  • /ɪf/, /If/
  • Rhymes with: -ɪf

Conjunction

  1. Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that; used to introduce a condition or choice.
    If it rains, I will get wet.
  2. Supposing that; used with past subjunctive indicating that the condition is not fulfilled.
    I'd prefer it if you took your shoes off.
  3. Although; used to introduce a concession.
    He was a great friend, if a little stingy at the bar.
  4. In the event that a statement is true (a programming statement that acts in a similar manner).
    If A, then B, else C.
  5. Whether; used to introducing a noun clause as the object of certain verbs.
    I don't know if I want to go or not.

Usage notes

Derived terms

Alternative forms

Translations

whether

Noun

  1. An if clause representing a condition; a protasis introduced by if.
    • 1709, Susannah Centlivre, The Busy Body, Act III, in John Bell (ed.), British Theater, J. Bell (1791), page 59,
      Sir Fran. Nay, but Chargy, if——— ¶ Miran. Nay, Gardy, no Ifs.——Have I refus'd three northern lords, two British peers, and half a score knights, to have put in your Ifs?
    • 1791 January, "Richardſon’s Chemical Principles of the Metallic Arts", in The Monthly Review, R. Griffiths, page 176,
      Well might Bergman add, (in his Scicgraphia,), “if the compariſon that has been made, &c. be juſt.” The preſent writer makes no ifs about the matter, and has ſuperadded a little inaccuracy of his own, […]

Derived terms

Translations

a theoretical condition

See also

French

Etymology

ivos.

Pronunciation

IPA: /if/

Noun

fr-noun m
  1. yew

Extensive Definition

If is a very common English word used in the protasis of a conditional sentence and the antecedent of a proposition. It is often used in computer languages to indicate a conditional.
If is also
When followed by various forms of punctuation, If can refer to:
  • "If—", the Rudyard Kipling poem
  • If?, a dance band of the late 1980s and early '90s
  • If... (comic), a political comic strip which appears in the UK newspaper The Guardian
  • If... (TV series), a series of BBC drama-documentaries
  • if...., a 1968 Lindsay Anderson film starring Malcolm McDowell
  • Shin Megami Tensei if..., a 1994 video game in the Shin Megami Tensei series for the Super Famicom
As an abbrevation, IF can refer to
Businesses named "If" or abbreviated "IF" include:

See also

if in Czech: Když (rozcestník)
if in German: IF
if in Esperanto: If
if in French: If
if in Korean: IF
if in Italian: IF
if in Hebrew: If
if in Dutch: If
if in Japanese: IF
if in Norwegian: If
if in Polish: IF
if in Kölsch: IF (Watt ėßß datt?)
if in Romanian: If (dezambiguizare)
if in Finnish: If
if in Swedish: If
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