what-if

See also: what if

English

What if Abraham Lincoln had not been assassinated?

A diesel locomotive. What if, instead of a steam locomotive, locomotives had been diesel right from the beginning?

Noun

what-if (plural what-ifs)

1. (informal) A speculation as to what might have happened if something else had happened earlier.
   • 2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, page 199:

     Each man was running over the what ifs in his mind.

2. (informal) A hypothetical case or situation, usually evoked by a sense of anxiety or uncertainty.

Derived terms

• what-iffery

Related terms

• what if

Verb

what-if (third-person singular simple present what-ifs, present participle what-iffing, simple past and past participle what-iffed)

1. (informal) To speculate about the consequences of something that could have happened.

See also

• counterfactual
• ifs, ands, or buts