Meanings
- At the time of an event, contingent on that event happening at all.
Near-synonym: as and when
3 more examples
[T]o his son Thomas Battersbee, if and when he should attain the age of 21; but if he should die under that age then to his daughter Sophia, if and when she should attain that age...
1819, John Wilson, Cases in Chancery [1818-1819], page 90Since, as many parents have found to their sorrow, you cannot force a child to sleep, most find it easier on everybody to accept this nightwalking if and when it occurs
1980, Louise Bates Ames, Frances Lillian Ilg, Your Three-year-old: Friend Or Enemy, page 81Still, one cannot completely ignore the differences in the nature of the paper trail the two sets of rules give us if and when we want to look back at a particular decision.
2006, Dennis D. Riley, Bryan E. Brophy-Baermann, Bureaucracy and the Policy Process: Keeping the Promises, page 318Synonyms: as and when
Synonyms & antonyms
conjunctionAt the time of an event, contingent on that event happening at all.
Cite this entry
if and when. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20and%20when
“if and when.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20and%20when. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if and when,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20and%20when.
Source: if and when on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.