without
Syllables: with·outUK/wɪðˈaʊt//wɪθˈaʊt/
without adverb: outside, externally.
Adverb
without (not comparable)
- Outside, externally.
- And as each and all of them were warmed without by the sun, so each had a private little sun for her soul to bask in; some dream, some affection, some hobby, at least some remote and distant hope which, though perhaps starving to nothing, still lived on, as hopes will.1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 18
- Strange silence here: without, the sounding street
Heralds the world's swift passage to the fire1900, Ernest Dowson, Benedictio Domini, lines 13–14
- Lacking something; failing.
- Being from a large, poor family, he learned to live without.
- We've run out of bread; you'll have to do without until I can get to the bakeshop.
- Without a condom being worn.
- “What's within reason?” “Hand-job, blow-job, full sex — straight, full service. Greek, maybe, if you're not too big. Golden shower, if you like, but not reverse. No hardsports. And absolutely nothing without.”2012, Maxim Jakubowski, The Best British Crime Omnibus
Preposition
without
- Outside of, beyond.
- MACBETH: There's blood upon your face.
FIRST MURDERER: 'Tis Banquo's then.
MACBETH: 'Tis better thee without than he within.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount... - Without the gate / Some drive the cars, and some the coursers rein.1697, Virgil, “The Seventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
- Antonyms:
- within
- MACBETH: There's blood upon your face.
- Not having, containing, characteristic of, etc.
- It was a mistake to leave my house without a coat.
- I was without formal education but was well read and articulate.
- Antonyms:
- with
- Not doing or not having done something.
- He likes to eat everything without sharing.
- He shot without warning anyone.
Conjunction
without
- Unless, except (introducing a clause).
- You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but that ain't no matter.1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter I, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 1
- ‘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, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
Noun
without (plural withouts)
- Someone or something lacking in something.
without meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
without in Hindi
- not having
- ...के बिना ...ke binā, बग़ैर baġair, बिना binā, विना vinā
without in Tamil
- இல்லாமல், இல்லாம, இல்லாமலேயே
without in Urdu
- not having
- ... کے بنا ... ke binā, کے بنا ke binā, بغیر baġair, بدون badūn
without in Bengali
- not having
- ছাড়া chaṛa, বিনা bina
More languagesFewer languages
- without in Telugu
- లేకుండా, లేనిదే, లేకుండానే
- without in Malayalam
- ഇല്ലാതെ
- without in Kannada
- ಇಲ್ಲದೇ, ಇಲ್ಲದೆ, ಇಲ್ಲದೆಯೇ
- without in Punjabi
- ਬਿਨਾਂ
- without in Gujarati
- વગર vagar, વિના ( vinā
- without in Odia
- ବିନା
- without in Sanskrit
- विना vinā
- without in Nepali
- बिना
- without in Pashto
- بې be
- without in Arabic
- بِدُونِ bidūni, بِلَا bilā, بِغَيْرِ biḡayri, دُونَ dūna
- without in Malay
- tanpa, tidak ada, sonder
- without in Indonesian
- tanpa
- without in Persian
- بی bē, بدون bidūn-i, فاقد fāqid
- without in Thai
- ไร้ rái, ไม่มี mâi-mii
- without in Vietnamese
- không có
- without in Myanmar
- မ...ဘဲ ma....bhai:
Examples of without in a sentence
- Whose can be used with a following noun or without.
- Without noticing it I grew old.
- I knew that someone had entered the house cautiously from without.1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez, Norton, published 2005, page 1100:
- The feeling seemed to come not from without, but from within each body, as though every person had become a vibrating string.2016, Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu, Death's End, Tor, translation of 死神永生, →ISBN, page 236:
- Communication is a kind of beauty, he said – and “beauty manifests itself from the noun itself, without strawberries on the cake.”2019 September 24, Jessie Yeung, “Pope Francis loves nouns but is ‘allergic’ to adjectives”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Sep...
- From thence we came without the Eaſtern gate, (ſtanding on a low Banke, called the daughter of Syon, that over-toppeth the valley of Iehoſaphat,) unto an immoveable ſtone, upon the which they ſaid St.1640, William Lithgow, “The Sixt Part”, in The Totall Diſcourſe, Of the rare Adventures, and painefull Peregrinations of long nineteene...
Synonyms of without
3 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- excusing
- neglecting
- void of
Antonyms
Forms of without
| Adverb | |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | withoute |
| alternative form (obsolete) | wythoute |
| alternative form (obsolete) | wythowt |
| alternative form (obsolete) | wythowte |
| Noun | |
| plural | withouts |
Origin of without
From Middle English withoute, withouten, from Old English wiþūtan (literally “against the outside of”). By surface analysis, with- + out. Compare Dutch buiten (“outside of, without”), Danish uden (“without”), Swedish utan (“without”), Norwegian uten (“without”). Superseded non-native Middle English sauns, sans (“without”), from Old French sans, sanz, senz (“without”). Compare typologically Proto-Slavic *bez (“without”) (<+ Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs (“out”)).
Words formed from without
- Calne Without
- Chippenham Without
- Clifton Without
- Llanidloes Without
- make it do or do without
- Melksham Without
- Millom Without
- Minehead Without
- St Cuthbert Without
- Wellington Without
- do without
- go without
- absence without leave
- absent without leave
- a prophet is not without honor save in his own country
- a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
- can't live with them and can't live without them
- cold without
- decimal without a zero
- distinction without a difference
- face without makeup
- fly without a licence
- go without saying
- handle without gloves
- handle without mittens
- it goes without saying
- let he who is without sin cast the first stone
- let him that is without sin cast the first stone
- let him who is without sin cast the first stone
- Life without Death
- make bricks without clay
- make bricks without straw
- make bricks without straws
- make off without payment
- making off without payment
- may the Force be without you
- minister without portfolio
- no gain without pain
- no rose without a thorn
- no show without Punch
- no smoke without fire
- nothing about us without us
- rebel without a cause
- rebel without a clue
- reckon without
- reckon without one's host
- syndrome without a name
- there's no smoke without fire
- times without number
- up a creek without a paddle
- up the creek without a paddle
- up shit creek without a paddle
- up shit's creek without a paddle
- without accident
- without a doubt
- without a hitch
- without a murmur
- without a prayer
- without a scratch
- without a shadow of a doubt
Phrases with without
- did without
- without day
- without end
- does without
- done without
- goes without
- gone without
- went without
- without book
- without fail
- doing without
- going without
82 more phrasesFewer phrases
- without cause
- without cease
- without doubt
- without price
- without tears
- without trace
- without coffee
- without number
- reckons without
- without a trace
- reckoned without
- without biscuits
- without ceremony
- without incident
- without question
- without recourse
- reckoning without
- without exception
- without prejudice
- Wokingham Without
- world without end
- goes without saying
- gone without saying
- went without saying
- without further ado
- going without saying
- rebels without causes
- without fear or favor
- without further adieu
- without welt or guard
- Year Without a Summer
- absences without leave
- flew without a licence
- handled without gloves
- handles without gloves
- rebels without a cause
- without batting an eye
- without fear or favour
- flies without a licence
- flown without a licence
- handled without mittens
- handles without mittens
- handling without gloves
- without a by your leave
- without a by-your-leave
- without a word of a lie
- without blinking an eye
- flying without a licence
- handling without mittens
- made off without payment
- without tea and biscuits
- made bricks without straw
- makes off without payment
- without batting an eyelid
- made bricks without straws
- makes bricks without straw
- reckons without one's host
- without batting an eyelash
- without blinking an eyelid
- without loss of generality
- makes bricks without straws
- making bricks without straw
- ministers without portfolio
- reckoned without one's host
- without blinking an eyelash
- making bricks without straws
- ministers without portfolios
- reckoning without one's host
- without troubling the scorers
- distinctions without differences
- distinctions without a difference
- if I'm not there, start without me
- without so much as a by your leave
- without so much as a by-your-leave
- zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse
- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em
- can't live with them, can't live without them
- cannot live with them, cannot live without them
- you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
- you can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em
- one can't live with them, one can't live without them
- you can't live with them, you can't live without them
Words that rhyme with without
42 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- set about
- shout
- sprout
- doubt
- umlaut
- fill out
- grout
- pout
- devout
- drought
- gout
- nowt
- redoubt
- throughout
- ablaut
- dout
- flout
- lout
- mahout
- misdoubt
- mought
- prone out
- strout
- term out
- trout
- zoom out
- 'bout
- anlaut
- aspout
- asprout
- bluff out
- chout
- dought
- knout
- kraut
- layabout
- ne'er cast a clout till May be out
- owt
- peter out
- regrout
- sout
- when in doubt, do nowt
Questions about without
- What does without mean?
- Without means outside, externally.
- What is without in Hindi?
- Without in Hindi is ...के बिना (...ke binā), बग़ैर (baġair), बिना (binā). See Without meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use without in a sentence?
- Whose can be used with a following noun or without.
- What part of speech is without?
- Without can be an adverb, a preposition, a conjunction or a noun.
- How do you pronounce without?
- Without is pronounced /wɪðˈaʊt/ (UK).
Words near without in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: without (page history and authors); without (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); without (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-without.ogg, en-ca-without.ogg.
Cite this entry: “without.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/without. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
