English Online Dictionary. What means without? What does without mean?
English
Alternative forms
- withoute, wythoute, wythowt, wythowte (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English withoute, withouten, from Old English wiþūtan (literally “against the outside of”). Compare Dutch buiten (“outside of, without”), Danish uden (“without”), Swedish utan (“without”), Norwegian uten (“without”). By surface analysis, with- + out.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /wɪθˈaʊt/, /wɪðˈaʊt/
- (Canada) IPA(key): [wɪθˈɐʊ̯t], [wɪðˈɐʊ̯t], [-əu̯t], [-ʌʊ̯t]
- (Southern Ontario) IPA(key): [wɪθˈɛʊ̯t]
- (Ottawa Valley) IPA(key): [wɪɾ̥ˈəu̯t]
- Hyphenation: with‧out
- Rhymes: -aʊt
Adverb
without (not comparable)
- (archaic or literary) Outside, externally.
- 2019 December 8, Supergirl (TV series), season 5, episode 8, "Crisis on Infinite Earths":
- Brainiac: This earthquake is quite literally worldwide.
- Alex Danvers: But the seismic activity [isn't] coming from within the planet, it's coming from without.
- Lacking something; failing.
- (prostitution, euphemistic) Without a condom being worn.
Usage notes
- Sense 1 is still used in the names of some civil parishes in England, e.g. St Cuthbert Without.
Derived terms
Preposition
without
- (archaic or literary) Outside of, beyond.
- Antonym: within
- Not having, containing, characteristic of, etc.
- Antonym: with
- 1967, Paul McCartney (writer), The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Life goes on within you and without you.
- Not doing or not having done something.
Synonyms
- lacking, outwith, with no, -less, w/o, sans, -free, minus
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “outside”): within
- (antonym(s) of “not having”): with, having, characteristic of, endowed with
Derived terms
Translations
Conjunction
without
- (archaic or dialectal) Unless, except (introducing a clause).
Anagrams
- outwith