with

¹

[ with, with ]

preposition

1. accompanied by; accompanying:

   I will go with you. He fought with his brother against the enemy.

2. in some particular relation to (especially implying interaction, company, association, conjunction, or connection):

   I dealt with the problem. She agreed with me.

3. characterized by or having:

   a person with initiative.

4. (of means or instrument) by the use of; using:

   to line a coat with silk; to cut with a knife.

5. (of manner) using or showing:

   to work with diligence.

6. in correspondence, comparison, or proportion to:

   Their power increased with their number. How does their plan compare with ours?

7. in regard to:

   to be pleased with a gift.

8. (of cause) owing to:

   to die with pneumonia; to pale with fear.

9. in the region, sphere, or view of:

   It is day with us while it is night with the Chinese.

10. (of separation) from:

    to part with a thing.

11. against, as in opposition or competition:

    He fought with his brother over the inheritance.

12. in the keeping or service of:

    to leave something with a friend.

13. in affecting the judgment, estimation, or consideration of:

    Her argument carried a lot of weight with the trustees.

14. at the same time as or immediately after; upon:

    And with that last remark, she turned and left.

15. of the same opinion or conviction as:

    Are you with me or against me?

16. in proximity to or in the same household as:

    He lives with his parents.

17. (used as a function word to specify an additional circumstance or condition):

    We climbed the hill, with Jeff following behind.

with-

²

1. a combining form of with, having a separative or opposing force:

   withstand; withdraw.

with

/ wɪθ; wɪð /

preposition

1. using; by means of

   he killed her with an axe

2. accompanying; in the company of

   the lady you were with

3. possessing; having

   a man with a red moustache

4. concerning or regarding

   be patient with her

5. in spite of

   with all his talents, he was still humble

6. used to indicate a time or distance by which something is away from something else

   with three miles to go, he collapsed

7. in a manner characterized by

   writing with abandon

8. caused or prompted by

   shaking with rage

9. often used with a verb indicating a reciprocal action or relation between the subject and the preposition's object

   chatting with the troops

   agreeing with me

10. not with you informal.
    not able to grasp or follow what you are saying
11. with it informal.
    1. fashionable; in style
    2. comprehending what is happening or being said
12. with that
    after that; having said or done that

Word History and Origins

Origin of with¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: “opposite, against” (cognate with Old Norse vith ), apparently short variant of Old English wither “against”; cognate with Old Saxon withar, Old High German widar, Old Norse vithr, Gothic withra

Origin of with²

Middle English, Old English. See with

Word History and Origins

Origin of with¹

Old English; related to Old Norse vith, Gothic withra, Latin vitricus stepfather, Sanskrit vitarám wider

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. with child, pregnant.
2. with it, Slang.
   1. knowledgeable about, sympathetic to, or partaking of the most up-to-date trends, fashions, art, etc.
   2. representing or characterized by the most up-to-date trends, fashions, art, etc.
3. in with. in ( def 35 ).
4. with that. that ( def 19 ).

More idioms and phrases containing with

• alive with
• all over with
• all right with
• all up (with)
• along with
• at home (with)
• at odds (with)
• at one (with)
• bear with
• born with a silver spoon
• both barrels, with
• bound up in (with)
• break with
• burst with
• can do with
• can't do anything with
• cast one's lot with
• caught with one's pants down
• charge with
• clear with
• come down with
• come out with
• come to grips with
• come to terms with
• come up with
• come with the territory
• cook with gas
• damn with faint praise
• deal with
• die with one's boots on
• dispense with
• do away with
• down with
• fall in with
• fence with
• fight fire with fire
• fit in (with)
• fix up with
• get along with
• get an in with
• get away with
• get involved with
• get in with
• get on (with it)
• get over (with)
• get together (with)
• get tough with
• go along (with)
• go halves with
• go hard with
• gone with the wind
• go out (with)
• go through (with)
• go to bed with
• go with
• go with the flow
• green with envy
• handle with gloves
• have a brush with
• have a way with
• have a word with
• have done (with)
• have no truck with
• have pull with
• have to do with
• have words with
• hold with
• in bad with
• in good with
• in league with
• in (with) regard to
• in trouble with
• in with
• it's all over with
• keep up with
• kill with kindness
• laugh and the world laughs with you
• lead with one's chin
• learn to live with
• level with
• lie with
• like a chicken with its head cut off
• over and done with
• over with
• pal around with
• part with
• play ball (with)
• play the devil with
• play with fire
• put up with
• reckon with
• roll with the punches
• rub elbows with
• run around (with)
• run away with
• run off with
• run with
• saddle someone with
• see with half an eye
• settle with
• shake hands with
• shake with laughter
• side with
• sign on with
• sit well with
• sleep with
• spar with
• square with
• stand up with
• stay with
• stick with
• stuck with
• swim with the tide
• take issue with
• taken with
• take the bitter with the sweet
• take the rough with the smooth
• take up with
• tamper with
• tarred with the same brush
• tax with
• team up with
• tinker with
• together with
• to hell with
• top off (with)
• to start with
• toy with
• trouble one's head with
• vote with one's feet
• walk off with
• what's with
• what with
• you can't take it with you

Synonym Study

See by.

Example Sentences

The Caiman offers a range of option packages, from bristling-with-machine-guns, to monster-truck-field-hospital.

From The Daily Beast

He referred to this risky state of affairs as “the babushka-with-uranium-in-the-chicken-shed” problem.

From The Daily Beast

After the “man-with-a-cap” shot up the Libération offices yesterday he headed to the other side of town on the Métro.

From The Daily Beast

Patience is virtue—a really, painfully difficult-to-deal-with virtue.

From The Daily Beast

They were not ostentatious as much as they were happy—in a grownup, made-peace-with-it-all way.

From The Daily Beast

The little shoe, whose silken laces had become loose in walking, lay in the road covered-with dust.

From Project Gutenberg

This garrison arrived at the moment when the insurgents, confiding on the Governor's promise, were with-drawing.

From Project Gutenberg

So late home to supper and to bed, weary-with walking so long to no purpose in the Park to-day.

From Project Gutenberg

And yet—can you understand it?With a tender smile and a tear, And a half-compassionate yearning,I felt her grown more dear.

From Project Gutenberg

But America had given the world a new form of transportation, trains that run without rails and with-out coal.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use with-

What does with- mean?

With– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “separation from” or “against.” It is occasionally used in a variety of everyday terms.

With– comes from Old English with, meaning “away,” “against,” or “refuse,” the very same with which eventually, and surprisingly, evolved in meaning into its current sense of “together, accompanied” in present-day English. The Latin equivalent of with is contrā, meaning “against,” which is the source of English terms such as contradict and contravene. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

Examples of with-

One example of a word that features the form with– is withdraw, “to draw back, away, or aside.” Withdraw comes from Middle English withdrawnen, which uses the equivalent of with– in that language.

The with– part of the word here means “separation from.” The –draw part of the word means “draw,” as in “to cause to move in a particular direction.” Withdraw literally means “to separate from by moving away.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form with– in Middle or Old English?

• withal
• withhold
• without
• withstand

What are some other forms that with– may be commonly confused with?

• iter-
• the-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters with-, such as wither or withy, is necessarily using the combining form with– to denote “against.” Learn why wither means “fade” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

Given the meaning of with-, what does withstand mean?