what-if
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See also: what if
English
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Abraham_Lincoln_O-77_matte_collodion_print.jpg/200px-Abraham_Lincoln_O-77_matte_collodion_print.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/BNSF_540_-_GE_B-40-8W_%28Dash_8%29_in_Oregon.jpg/200px-BNSF_540_-_GE_B-40-8W_%28Dash_8%29_in_Oregon.jpg)
Noun
[edit]- (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.
- (informal) A hypothetical case or situation, usually evoked by a sense of anxiety or uncertainty.
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Verb
[edit]what-if (third-person singular simple present what-ifs, present participle what-iffing, simple past and past participle what-iffed)
- (informal) To speculate about the consequences of something that could have happened.