English Online Dictionary. What means without? What does without mean?
English
Alternative forms
- withoute (archaic); wythoute, wythowt (obsolete), wythowte (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English withoute, withouten, from Old English wiþūtan (literally “against the outside of”); equivalent to with- + out. Compare Dutch buiten (“outside of, without”), Danish uden (“without”), Swedish utan (“without”), Norwegian uten (“without”).
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /wɪθˈaʊt/, /wɪðˈaʊt/
- (Canada) IPA(key): [wɪθˈɐʊt], [wɪðˈɐʊt]
- Rhymes: -aʊt
- Hyphenation: with‧out
Adverb
without (not comparable)
- (archaic or literary) Outside, externally. This is still used in the names of some civil parishes in England, e.g. St Cuthbert Without.
- 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.
- (euphemistic) In prostitution: without a condom being worn.
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
Antonyms
- (outside): within
- (not having): with, having, characteristic of, endowed with
Derived terms
- withoutness
- without trace, without a trace
Translations
Conjunction
without
- (archaic or dialectal) Unless, except (introducing a clause).
Anagrams
- outwith