if/then

A form of if-then — A proposition or statement about what should or does occur when a certain condition is met.

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Meanings

nounif/then (plural if/thens)

plural if/thens

  1. alternativeAlternative form of if-then.

    Today, programmers mostly use “if/thens” instead of 0s and 1s.

    2018, Catherine Brereton, Women Scientists in Math and Coding (Superwomen in STEM), Gareth Stevens Publishing, →ISBN, page 35
    2 more examples

    1. The problem is well bounded, 2. There are many empirical if/thens that lead to a correct solution, 3. The total number of if/thens is sufficient to bring you close to a right answer (Mazur 1987).

    1989 December, David W. Long, Michael R. Wagner, “Insect Pest Management Expert Systems in Multiresource Management of Ponderosa Pine”, in Multiresource Management of Ponderosa Pine Forests: Nov. 14 - 16, 1989, Flagstaff, Arizona (General Technical Report RM-185), page 260

    “Do you deal with chaos theory in your work?” “Me? I guess I just think it's fascinating. I see chaos as a series of if/thens. But that's the programmer in me.[…]”

    2018, Kirsten Weiss, The Gargoyle Chronicles, volume 1, misterio press, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

if/then. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%2Fthen

MLA

“if/then.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%2Fthen. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if/then,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%2Fthen.

Source: if/then on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.