In case or incase?
in case is a conjunction meaning “To allow for the possibility that”; incase is a verb meaning “Alternative spelling of encase”. in case is written as two words and incase as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between in case and incase?
| in case | incase | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | conjunction | verb |
| Meaning | To allow for the possibility that CanadaUSIf | Alternative spelling of encase |
| Example | I'll take an umbrella, in case it rains | none recorded |
| Forms | none | incases, incasing, incased |
| Pronunciation | /ɪn ˈkeɪs/ | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: in case and incase in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of in case and incase
in case
- 1
To allow for the possibility that
I'll take an umbrella, in case it rains
- 2
CanadaUSIf
In case you need me, I'll be home all day
incase
- 1
Alternative spelling of encase
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, in case or incase?
in case is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; incase about once in every 1 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search in case vs incase?
“in case vs incase” is searched about 480 times a month on Google and 60 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“incase vs in case”, “in case or incase”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.