In addition to the uses shown below, without is used in the phrasal verbs 'do without', 'go without', and 'reckon without'.
1. preposition
You use without to indicate that someone or something does not have or use the thing mentioned.
I don't like myself without a beard.
She wore a brown shirt pressed without a wrinkle.
...a meal without barbecue sauce.
2. preposition
If one thing happens without another thing, or if you do something without doing something else, the second thing does not happen or occur.
He was offered a generous pension provided he left without a fuss.
They worked without a break until about eight in the evening.
Alex had done this without consulting her.
3. preposition
If you do something without a particular feeling, you do not have that feeling when you do it.
Janet Magnusson watched his approach without enthusiasm.
'Hello, Swanson,' he said without surprise.
4. preposition
If you do something without someone else, they are not in the same place as you are or are not involved in thesame action as you.
I told Franklin he would have to start dinner without me.
How can I rebuild my life without you?
We would never go anywhere without you.
More Synonyms of without
English Easy Learning GrammarPrepositionsA preposition is one of a small but very common group of words that relate differentitems to each other. Most English prepositions have a number of meanings ... Read more
without in British English
(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
6. formal
outside; outwardly
conjunction
7. not standard
unless
don't come without you have some money
without in American English
(wɪðˈaʊt; wɪθˈaʊt)
adverb
1.
on the outside; externally
2.
outside a building or place; out-of-doors
preposition
3. Rare
at, on, to, or toward the outside of
throngs within and without the city walls
4. Archaic
beyond
without his reach
5.
not with; lacking; not accompanied by
a shirt without buttons, lonely without her
6.
free from
without fear
7.
with avoidance of
to pass by without speaking
8. Obsolete
besides
noun
9. Rare
the outside or the exterior
conjunction
10. Dialectal
unless
they can't go, without they get permission
Idioms:
go without
Word origin
ME withuten < OE withutan < with, with + utan, from outside, without < ut, out
More idioms containing
without
make bricks without straw
without missing a beat
you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
without rhyme or reason
it goes without saying
there's no smoke without fire
Examples of 'without' in a sentence
without
They carry a float for people without enough money to get home.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You understand why certain people can be difficult without taking things personally.
The Sun (2016)
They knew alopecia is an unpredictable condition and can come back without warning.
The Sun (2016)
The fact that they have lost their money without getting a run leaves a bad taste.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We hope to make it possible for people to engineer all kinds of things without having to code.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He asked the journalist how he could write something without apparently being able to prove that it had taken place.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Yet within a few years, she could not walk outside without being mobbed.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There's lots of land there and they could do something without taking the track out.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It looks like little more than a decorative pattern ; without the wall text to explain you would certainly overlook it.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Then again, how many superstars spend 13 seasons at any club these days without using outside interest to shore up their position?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Without public money the bankers would be sleeping on park benches.
The Sun (2010)
Would it be wrong or potentially disastrous if we had an affair without anyone else knowing?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Think about negative things without wanting to?
Atkinson, Jacqueline M Coping with Stress at Work (1988)
Without outside help that will most likely be it.
The Sun (2014)
You could be holding something back without knowing it.
The Sun (2014)
Yet victory did not come without cost.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
No one will be able to go to football or anywhere else without real jobs and wages.
The Sun (2014)
She says things without thinking about them first.
The Sun (2012)
We booked a hotel room and had two gorgeous days without stepping outside.
The Sun (2013)
You cannot hope for something without also fearing it might not happen.
Claudia Hammond EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER: A Journey Through the Science of Feelings (2005)
How would things turn out without the influence of their beloved mother?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He suddenly decides to do something without any thought to my wishes or commitments.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They come without baggage to interrupt the daydream of a desert island.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They are expensive and you just want to make some money without losing your shirt along the way.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Since we contacted the company it has offered to refund the money without the pair having to attend.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
If you take it away without knowing what else to put there it will leave a very creakyfloor.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Other banks may also prefer to keep their doors barred against firsttime buyers and anyone else without a substantial deposit.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Unless manifestly without reasonable foundation, their assessment had to be respected.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
With it the wheels of life turn smoothly; without it all is discord and friction.
Lumsden, Robert 23 Steps to Successful Achievement (1972)
Anybody imprisoned in the contraption could not have escaped without a key unless he or she had cut off their own foot, experts said.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It matters hugely; without gains in productivity, pay growth is going to be sluggish.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Our journey took us across farmland; driving without lights, the engine revs kept to a minimum.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
without
British English: without /wɪˈðaʊt/ PREPOSITION
If you do something without someone, they are not in the same place as you are, or they are not doing the same thing as you.
He went without me.
American English: without
Arabic: بِدُون
Brazilian Portuguese: sem
Chinese: 没有
Croatian: bez
Czech: bez
Danish: uden
Dutch: zonder
European Spanish: sin
Finnish: ilman
French: sans
German: ohne
Greek: χωρίς
Italian: senza
Japanese: ･･･なしで
Korean: ...없이
Norwegian: uten
Polish: bez brak
European Portuguese: sem
Romanian: fără
Russian: без
Latin American Spanish: sin
Swedish: utan
Thai: ปราศจาก
Turkish: onsuz
Ukrainian: без
Vietnamese: không có
All related terms of 'without'
do without
If you do without something you need, want , or usually have, you are able to survive , continue , or succeed although you do not have it.
go without
If you go without something that you need or usually have or do, you do not get it or do it.
without cease
without stopping ; incessantly
without demur
If you do something without demur , you do it immediately and without making any protest .
without fail
You use without fail to emphasize that something always happens .
without tears
presented so as to be easily assimilated
reckon without
If you say that you had reckoned without something, you mean that you had not expected it and so were not prepared for it.
without number
of too great a quantity to be counted ; innumerable
without reserve
without reservations ; fully; wholeheartedly
without ceremony
in a casual or informal manner
without exception
You use without exception to emphasize that the statement you are making is true in all cases .
without hesitation
If you say that someone does something without hesitation , you are emphasizing that they do it immediately and willingly.
without obligation
In advertisements , if a product or a service is available without obligation , you do not have to pay for that product or service until you have tried it and are satisfied with it.
without prejudice
without dismissing or detracting from an existing right or claim
without question
If you do something without question , you do it without arguing or asking why it is necessary .
without recourse
a qualified endorsement on such a negotiable instrument, by which the endorser protects himself or herself from liability to subsequent holders
be lost without
If you say that you would be lost without someone or something, you mean that you would be unhappy or unable to work properly without them.
go without saying
to be so obvious as to need no explanation
song without words
a song which only consists of a tune or melody and does not have any lyrics
without (a) doubt
If you say that something is true without doubt or without a doubt , you are emphasizing that it is definitely true.
without a hitch
smoothly, easily , and successfully
without a murmur
If someone does something without a murmur , they do it without complaining .
without qualification
If something is stated or accepted without qualification , it is stated or accepted as it is, without the need for any changes.
without regard to
without considering
world without end
for ever
absent without leave
absent from duty without official permission but with no intention of deserting
deaf without speech
(usually of a prelingually deaf person) able to utter sounds but not speak
goes without saying
If something goes without saying , it is obvious .
without detriment to
If something happens without detriment to a person or thing, it does not harm or damage them.
without further ado
If you do something without further ado or without more ado , you do it at once and do not discuss or delay it any longer.
without prejudice to
If you take an action without prejudice to an existing situation, your action does not change or harm that situation.
no smoke without fire
the evidence strongly suggests something has indeed happened
beyond doubt
You say that something is beyond doubt or beyond reasonable doubt when you are certain that it is true and it cannot be contradicted or disproved .
beyond price
invaluable or priceless
cease
If something ceases , it stops happening or existing .
disappear without a trace
If you say that someone or something disappears without a trace , you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
it goes without saying
said to mean that something is so obvious that it does not need to be said or explained
make bricks without straw
to do a job, or try to do it, without the proper resources that are needed for it
Minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is a politician who is given the rank of minister without being given responsibility for any particular area of a government's activities.
that goes without saying
that is obvious or self-evident
without missing a beat
without pausing or hesitating
without rhyme or reason
happening without any logical or obvious reason
beyond compare
If you describe something as beyond compare , you mean that it is extremely good or extremely great .
taxation without representation
a phrase, generally attributed to James Otis about 1761, that reflected the resentment of American colonists at being taxed by a British Parliament to which they elected no representatives and became an anti-British slogan before the American Revolution ; in full, “ Taxation without representation is tyranny ”
there's no smoke without fire where there's smoke there's fire
If someone says there's no smoke without fire or where there's smoke there's fire , they mean that there are rumours or signs that something is true so it must be at least partly true.
to sink without trace sink without a trace
If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace , you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.
I don't want to/without wanting to
People sometimes say ' I don't want to be rude ', for example, or ' without wanting to be rude' as a way of apologizing or warning you when they are going to say something which might upset , annoy , or worry you.
rhyme or reason
If something happens or is done without rhyme or reason , there seems to be no logical reason for it to happen or be done.
you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
said to mean that it is impossible to achieve something without there being bad or unpleasant side-effects
up the creek
If someone is up the creek , they are in a bad or difficult situation, or are wrong in some way. You can also say that someone is up the creek without a paddle .
Chinese translation of 'without'
without
(wɪðˈaut)
prep
没(沒)有 (méiyǒu)
without a coat未穿外套 (wèi chuān wàitào)
without speaking不曾说(說)话(話) (bùcéng shuōhuà)
it goes without saying这(這)不消说(說) (zhè bùxiāo shuō)
without anyone knowing不为(為)人知地 (bù wéi rén zhī de)
All related terms of 'without'
do without
没(沒)有 ... 也行 méiyǒu ... yě xíng
go without
( food, treats ) 没(沒)有 méiyǒu ...
without delay
立即 lìjì
without fail
( definitely ) 一定 yīdìng ⇒ Don't worry, I'll be there without fail. → 别担心，我一定会去。 Bié dānxīn, wǒ yīdìng huì qù.
without mishap
毫无(無)波折 háo wú bōzhé
without notice
不事先通知 bù shìxiān tōngzhī
without question
( unquestioningly ) 毫无(無)异(異)议(議) háo wú yìyì
without speaking
不曾说(說)话(話) bùcéng shuōhuà
without success
一无(無)所成 yī wú suǒ chéng
without a break
连(連)续(續)不断(斷) liánxù bùduàn
without a coat
未穿外套 wèi chuān wàitào
without foundation
没(沒)有根据(據) méiyǒu gēnjù
without a murmur
毫无(無)怨言 háo wú yuànyán
without a whimper
( without complaining ) 一声(聲)不吭地 yī shēng bù kēng de
without any help
没(沒)有任何帮(幫)助 méiyǒu rènhé bāngzhù
without resort to
不诉(訴)诸(諸)于(於) bù sù zhū yú
absent without leave
( Mil ) 擅离(離)职(職)守 shàn lí zhíshǒu
without anyone knowing
不为(為)人知地 bù wéi rén zhī de
without prejudice to
( frm ) 无(無)损(損)于(於) wú sǔn yú
without prior warning
没(沒)有事先警告 méiyǒu shìxiān jǐnggào
it goes without saying
这(這)不消说(說) zhè bùxiāo shuō
to pass without comment
默许(許) mòxǔ
without rhyme or reason
毫无(無)道理 háo wú dàolǐ
beyond or without compare
( liter ) 无(無)与(與)伦(倫)比 wú yǔ lún bǐ
that goes without saying
那自不消说(說) nà zì bùxiāo shuō
to escape without injury
安然脱(脫)险(險) ānrán tuōxiǎn
to manage without sb/sth
在没(沒)有某人/某物的情况(況)下设(設)法对(對)付过(過)去 zài méiyǒu mǒurén/mǒuwù de qíngkuàng xià shèfǎ duìfu guòqù
to reckon without sb/sth
未考虑(慮)到某人/某事物 wèi kǎolǜdào mǒurén/mǒu shìwù
without a second thought
不假思索地 bù jiā sīsuǒ de
he accepted without hesitation
他毫不犹(猶)豫地接受了 tā háo bù yóuyù de jiēshòu le
with no or without frills
毫无(無)虚(虛)饰(飾)的 háo wú xūshì de
you'd be better off without him
不和他在一起，你会(會)过(過)得更好 bù hé tā zài yīqǐ, nǐ huì guò de gèng hǎo
to vanish or disappear without trace
消失得无(無)影无(無)踪(蹤) xiāoshī de wú yǐng wú zōng
the wedding went off without a hitch
婚礼(禮)进(進)行得非常顺(順)利 hūnlǐ jìnxíng de fēicháng shùnlì