if only

American  

[if ohn-lee] / ˌɪf ˈoʊn li /

idiom

1. (used to express a wish or regret).

2. (used before a reason why someone is doing something, to express that the reason may be a trivial one.)

---

if only More Idioms  

1. I wish that. For example, If only I had known you were coming I would have met your plane, or If only it would snow on Christmas Eve. [c. a.d. 1000] For a synonym, see would that.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

if only

And that old saw has always been a fairly decent shorthand, if only because older people tend to be the most reliable voters.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

Andriesz suspected there was yet more to find in the Epstein files that could back up his claims - if only people knew where to look in the 3.5 million pages of documents.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Even if only a portion of that projected spending materializes, Arcuri said it would support his “long-held conviction that industry WFE could approach” about $300 billion by 2029.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

And it seems unfair to leave out Alain Delon’s Italian “Zorro” of 1975, if only because his countryman Jean Dujardin is now making our hero available in French.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Yet in all the noise, the next sound was so distinct that the mob quieted, if only for a moment.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Related Words

• therefore