without

American  

[with-out, with-] / wɪðˈaʊt, wɪθ- /

preposition

1. with the absence, omission, or avoidance of; not with; with no or none of; lacking.

   without help; without shoes; without her helping me; without him to help.

2. free from; excluding.

   a world without hunger.

3. not accompanied by.

   Don't go without me.

4. at, on, or to the outside of; outside of.

   both within and without the house or the city.

5. beyond the compass, limits, range, or scope of (now used chiefly in opposition towithin ).

   whether within or without the law.

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adverb

1. in or into an exterior or outer place; outside.

2. outside a house, building, etc..

   The carriage awaits without.

3. lacking something implied or understood.

   We must take this or go without.

4. as regards the outside; externally.

noun

1. the outside of a place, region, area, room, etc.

conjunction

1. Midland and Southern U.S. unless.

without British  

/ wɪˈðaʊt /

preposition

1. not having

   a traveller without much money

2. not accompanied by

   he came without his wife

3. not making use of

   it is not easy to undo screws without a screwdriver

4. (foll by a verbal noun or noun phrase) not, while not, or after not

   she can sing for two minutes without drawing breath

5. archaic on the outside of

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adverb

1. formal outside; outwardly

conjunction

1. not_standard unless

   don't come without you have some money

without Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing without

• absent without leave
• do without
• get along without
• go without saying
• no smoke without fire

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Etymology

Origin of without

First recorded before 900; Middle English withouten, Old English withūtan (adverb and preposition); equivalent to with + out

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

without

Some have said that without all the supporting acts, the show is no longer what they paid for.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

“That was just from folks who actually called in,” said Agriculture Department Inspector General John Walk, adding that without reimbursements, “they’re probably underreporting even more than just a few years back.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

And I know from serving up in Sacramento, when you do state law, you do it across the board to everyone without consideration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Soledad wanted to capitalize on the attention on Ossoff without crossing that line.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

They were dumbfounded at seeing him in one piece, without even a scratch!

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios