without

[ with-out, with- ]

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 to within ):

   whether within or without the law.

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

/ 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

adverb

1. formal.
   outside; outwardly

conjunction

1. not_standard.
   unless

   don't come without you have some money

Word History and Origins

Origin of without¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

Without it, they say, the disease would surely kill her within two years.

From The Daily Beast

Most often, the doctrine is invoked by minors seeking an abortion without parental consent.

From The Daily Beast

The research literature, too, asks these questions, and not without reason.

From The Daily Beast

Then they came up against a police patrol on mountain bicycles, which again led to more shooting, without injuries.

From The Daily Beast

I remember all our music appeared on Spotify overnight, without anybody asking us.

From The Daily Beast

He held it, but it was without pressure; without recognizance of the delight with which he once grasped it.

From Project Gutenberg

Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.

From Project Gutenberg

She had listened—she had listened intently, looking straight out of the window and without moving.

From Project Gutenberg

Without preface, he abruptly asked, what had been told him of the Duke of Wharton's behaviour the preceding night.

From Project Gutenberg

Nevertheless the evening and the night passed away without incident.

From Project Gutenberg