In case or incase – which one is correct?
In case or incase — which form is correct? Don’t worry, you are not the only person who faces the dilemma. We are here to ease your pain and clear up your doubts.
In case or incase – which one is correct?
In case, written separately, is the correct spelling of the phrase. The other, incorrect form, is quite a common misspelling of the phrase, or the verb encase (meaning ‘to enclose’, ‘to cover’). It is not the only example when a missing space generates confusion:
What’s the meaning in case?
We use in case meaning ‘if it is true that’ or ‘as a precaution against the event that’. The most popular synonyms of the phrase include: if, when, given, providing; or, if you want to sound slightly more sophisticated: on the assumption and with the proviso.
In case appears also in some other phrases, which may be useful to know. You know, just in case.
The expressions include:
- in no case — ‘this will not happen under any circumstance’,
- in that case — ‘if that happens or occurs’,
- in any case — ‘moreover’,
- in case of — ‘in the event of’.
In case or incase? It’s all clear! Examples from literature
I only wanted a few good French friends in Bayonne to make me welcome in case I should come back there again.
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, 1926
Inside, though the saints and gods are not ours, we become true believers, in case any true believer should be present.
E. M, Forster, The Room with a View, 1908
Nanny Ogg looked under her bed in case there was a man there. Well, you never knew your luck.
Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies, 1992
