If you’re here, chances are that you’re an English as an additional language learner and you’ve come across the idiom whether or not out there and you’re wondering about its meaning, is that right?
Or maybe you’re just browsing our blog and you found this article.
Either way, if you’re interested in finding out the meaning of this common expression, and incorporating it into your vocabulary, stick with us!
Important note: This article refers to the idiom whether or not. An idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. It is a unity and as such, it has a specific meaning. If you’re interested in figuring out the use of if vs. whether check out our next blog post!
Meaning
This idiom is used for saying that it is not important which of two possibilities is true.
In other words, regardless of two different things being the case, something will happen anyway.
You could also think of this idiom as regardless of whether or despite any circumstances.
In this sense, we use this expression when something has already been decided and nothing about this decision will be changed in spite of any circumstances.
Real-life Example Sentences
- Coming of Age, Whether She’s Ready or Not (The New York Times)
- “We wanted our son, whether or not he had a disability” (About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times)
- Whether or not global warming leads to more war, it hurts vulnerable people (The Washington Post)
Now that you know the meaning of this common idiom, try to incorporate it into your everyday spoken English so you won’t forget it.
If you want to know more idioms in English, visit our article 10 Idioms And Their Meanings (With Sentences).
