without

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without

/wɪðˈaʊt/ UK
/wɪθˈaʊt/ UK
/wɪθˈaʊt/ US
/wɪðˈaʊt/ US
/wɪˈθaʊt/ US
/wɪˈðaʊt/ US
[wɪθˈɐʊ̯t] Canada
[wɪðˈɐʊ̯t] Canada
[-əu̯t] Canada
[-ʌʊ̯t] Canada
[wɪθˈɛʊ̯t] Ontario, Southern
[wɪɾ̥ˈəu̯t]

Rhymes with -aʊt

Where it comes from

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Superseded non-native Middle English sauns, sans (“without”), from Old French sans, sanz, senz (“without”).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”)).

adverb withoute · wythoute · wythowt · wythowte

archaic, literary, not comparable Outside, externally. Presently a rioting noise was heard without. Starting up, the landlord cried, “That’s the Grampus’s crew. I seed her reported in the offing this morning; a three years’ voyage, and a full ship. Hurrah, boys; now we’ll have the latest news from the Feegees.”
not comparable Lacking something; failing. Being from a large, poor family, he learned to live without.
euphemistic, not comparable 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.”

preposition withoute · wythoute · wythowt · wythowte

archaic, literary Outside of, beyond. MACBETH: There's blood upon your face. FIRST MURDERER: 'Tis Banquo's then. MACBETH: 'Tis better thee without than he within.
Opposite: within
Not having, containing, characteristic of, etc. It was a mistake to leave my house without a coat.
Opposite: with
Not doing or not having done something. He likes to eat everything without sharing.

conjunction withoute · wythoute · wythowt · wythowte

archaic, dialectal 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.

noun withouts · withoute · wythoute · wythowt · wythowte

uncommon Someone or something lacking in something.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: outside, out, off, apart, beyond, while, let, except, otherwise, fully, any, whilst, toll, with, besides, than

preposition

Translations

Every language

prep not having

Español	sin, sen, sin-
한국어	...없이 ...eopsi, ...없으면 ...eopseumyeon
日本語	...なしで ...nashi de, ...無し ...nashi
中文	沒有 /没有 méiyǒu, 無 /无 wú
हिन्दी	...के बिना ...ke binā, बग़ैर baġair, बिना binā, विना vinā
Kiswahili	bila
Português	sem
Français	sans, pas de, avec pas de, hormis, à l'exclusion de
Deutsch	ohne
Italiano	senza
Ελληνικά	χωρίς chorís, δίχως díchos, άνευ ánef
Română	fără
Русский	без bez
Tiếng Việt	không có
العربية	بِدُونِ bidūni, بِلَا bilā, بِغَيْرِ biḡayri, دُونَ dūna, مِنْ دُونِ min dūni
עברית	בְּלִי bli, לְלֹא leló, בִּלְעַד bil'ád

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MLA

"without." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/without. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

without. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/without

Chicago

"without." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/without.

BibTeX

@misc{without_2026,
  title = {without},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/without},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}