DictionaryAI

without

Saywith-OWT/wɪθˈaʊt/UK/wɪðˈaʊt/

6 meanings of without

Practice

  1. 1
    lackingpreposition
    Not having, using, or accompanied by something; not doing or having done something (followed by an -ing form).

    Coffee without sugar, please.

    She managed without any help.

    Oppositewith

    Note

    Now the everyday meaning, though it grew from a spatial one. Old English wiþūtan meant "against the outside of," and what stands outside you is what you do not have. Its clean opposite is with, as in coffee with or without sugar.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  2. 2
    adverb
    Lacking something understood from context; going short.

    If there is no milk, I will drink it without.

    The poor went without so the rich could feast.

    UsageMost often after do, go or live: do without, go without.

    Note

    Here the everyday preposition has dropped its object, and the listener supplies it from context. In we're out of milk, so we'll do without, the missing word is milk, because milk was just mentioned.

  3. 3
    on the outsideadverbarchaic
    Outside; externally.

    The house was grand without and cold within. (literary)

    I knew that someone had entered the house cautiously from without.
    1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez

    UsageOften set against within, or after from: grand without, cold within; noises from without.

    Note

    The meaning closest to the word's origin: Old English wiþūtan meant "against the outside of." It is at its best in contrast with within: warmed without by the sun, a private sun within; not from without, but from within. A 2016 translation still reaches for it.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Without derives from Old English wiþūtan, literally 'against the outside of'. en.wiktionary.org
    • The sun illustration echoes the contrast in Thomas Hardy's narration in Tess of the d'Urbervilles; 'a private sun within' is a paraphrase. gutenberg.org
    • The wording 'not from without, but from within' occurs in Ken Liu's translation of Death's End. en.wiktionary.org
    • The translation containing that example was published in 2016. us.macmillan.com

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    beyond (walls)prepositionarchaic
    Outside of; beyond.

    The chapel stood without the gate. (literary)

    Eternity, before the world and after, is without our reach.
    c. 1689, Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth

    UsageUsually before a boundary: without the gate, without the walls. Here it means outside, not lacking.

    Oppositewithin

    Note

    In older prose its natural objects are boundaries: without the gate, without the Eastern gate, the ground beyond a city's edge. It could also stretch figuratively, as when eternity lies without our reach. Its opposite is within, paired with it in Macbeth's 'Tis better thee without than he within.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Older prose uses without spatially for outside a boundary, including an Eastern gate. en.wiktionary.org
    • Without our reach has been used figuratively of eternity. en.wiktionary.org
    • Within is the opposite of spatial without. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted pairing occurs in Macbeth, spoken by Macbeth in Act III, scene iv. gutenberg.org
  2. 5
    unlessconjunctiondialectal
    Unless; except.

    Nobody gets in without they pay. (dialect)

    ‘Why,’ he blurted, ‘because they say I've no right to come up like this—without we mean to marry—’
    1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Sons and Lovers

    UsageFollowed by a full clause: without you have read it. In your own writing, use unless instead.

    Note

    A preposition promoted to a conjunction, introducing a full clause where standard English says unless. Huck Finn's narration opens with you don't know about me, without you have read a book, and D. H. Lawrence puts it in a character's mouth in 1913: without we mean to marry.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Without also functions as a conjunction meaning unless or except and introducing a clause. en.wiktionary.org
    • Huck Finn's first-person narration opens with the quoted words. en.wikipedia.org
    • D. H. Lawrence's novel containing the passage, Sons and Lovers, was published in 1913, as its first-edition title page states. en.wikisource.org
    • Without we mean to marry is spoken by Paul Morel to Miriam in Chapter 9 of Sons and Lovers. en.wikisource.org
  3. 6
    adverb
    In prostitution, used euphemistically to mean with no condom worn.

Practice

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Origin

Old English wiþūtan, whose literal sense was "against the outside of," became Middle English withoute or withouten. On the surface it can be split into with- and out. It took the place of sauns or sans ("without"), a non-native Middle English word that came from Old French sans.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • Old English wiþūtan developed into Middle English withoute or withouten. en.wiktionary.org
  • The literal sense of wiþūtan was “against the outside of.” en.wiktionary.org
  • Without can be analysed on the surface as with- and out. en.wiktionary.org
  • Without superseded the non-native Middle English word sauns or sans, meaning “without,” borrowed from Old French sans. en.wiktionary.org