"if" meaning in English

See if in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Conjunction

IPA: /ɪf/ Audio: en-us-if.ogg [US] Forms: if
Head templates: {{subordinator}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If is used to report questions and things that are unknown. Synonyms: whether
    Sense id: simple-if-en-conj-1FDwDR7Y

Noun

IPA: /ɪf/ Audio: en-us-if.ogg [US] Forms: if [singular], ifs [plural]
Head templates: {{noun}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If is a conditional situation.
    Sense id: simple-if-en-noun-HYiuE~Hb

Preposition

IPA: /ɪf/ Audio: en-us-if.ogg [US] Forms: if
Head templates: {{preposition}} [POS TABLE]
  1. Used to denote a condition.
    Sense id: simple-if-en-prep-r4AkoYGu
  2. although
    Sense id: simple-if-en-prep-Lh12V51E
  3. When ... occurs (a programming statement).
    Sense id: simple-if-en-prep-dtPfY2bE
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Preposition"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "preposition"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If it rains, I will get wet."
        },
        {
          "text": "I'd prefer it if you took your shoes off."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to denote a condition."
      ],
      "id": "simple-if-en-prep-r4AkoYGu"
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He was a great friend, if a little strange."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "although"
      ],
      "id": "simple-if-en-prep-Lh12V51E"
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If A, then B, else C."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "When ... occurs (a programming statement)."
      ],
      "id": "simple-if-en-prep-dtPfY2bE"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Subordinator"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "subordinator"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She asked if they had arrived yet."
        },
        {
          "text": "I don't know if I want to go or not."
        },
        {
          "text": "It doesn't matter if you have money or not."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If is used to report questions and things that are unknown."
      ],
      "id": "simple-if-en-conj-1FDwDR7Y",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "whether"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ifs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There are many ifs we need to consider before we start on the plan."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If is a conditional situation."
      ],
      "id": "simple-if-en-noun-HYiuE~Hb"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Preposition"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "preposition"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If it rains, I will get wet."
        },
        {
          "text": "I'd prefer it if you took your shoes off."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to denote a condition."
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He was a great friend, if a little strange."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "although"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "If A, then B, else C."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "When ... occurs (a programming statement)."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Subordinator"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "subordinator"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She asked if they had arrived yet."
        },
        {
          "text": "I don't know if I want to go or not."
        },
        {
          "text": "It doesn't matter if you have money or not."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If is used to report questions and things that are unknown."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "whether"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "if",
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "ifs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "There are many ifs we need to consider before we start on the plan."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If is a conditional situation."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪf/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/If/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-if.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "if"
}

Download raw JSONL data for if meaning in English (1.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-10 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (df33d17 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.