Definition of "what if" []

• Used to introduce a suggestion or proposal for a future event. (adverb)
• Used to introduce a speculation about a future event. (adverb)
• Used to introduce a speculation about a past event. Often the basis for counterfactual historical interpretations. (adverb)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "But LAURA BROWN has some questions: All this may be fine for consumer products, but what if a company is an industrial firm?"
• "But what if you market a low-involvement product and have little human contact with the customer: can “emotional advertising” then do the job?"
• "For one thing, what if whatever Mrs. Mullin had just set in motion had already gone too far before she and Mr. Mullin headed off to Turkey?"