if it were not for

English

Alternative forms

• were it not for
• if it had not been for

Prepositional phrase

if it were not for

1. If a certain condition were not met; used to indicate that a particular person, event, etc. prevented a certain outcome.

Further reading

• “were it not for”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “if it were not for”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “if it were not for” (US) / “if it were not for” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.