do without
phrasal verb
did without; done without; doing without; does without
: to not have (something) : to live, work, etc., without having (something)
If you can't afford a new car, you'll just have to do without (one).
I don't know how we ever did without computers.
—can/could do without is often used to say that one does not like or approve of somethingI enjoy traveling, but I can do without having to wait around in crowded airports.
He was late again. That's the kind of selfish behavior I could do without.
Examples of do without in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The demonstration was done without any path optimization.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 7 Nov. 2023
Guess Trudeau will have to do without an Ottawa date.
—Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023
That would be incredibly difficult—perhaps even impossible—to do without breaking the end-to-end encryption on platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal.
—WIRED, 26 Oct. 2023
Consider this roundup of tone-perfecting, pore-obscuring, self-effacing winners our way of celebrating the cover-ups that no makeup pro (or makeup bag) could possibly do without.
Don't miss the next big beauty sale.
—Liana Schaffner, Allure, 21 Sep. 2023
The job isn’t worth doing without tips, according to some servers.
—Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sep. 2023
The House and Senate must agree by mid-November on the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government in the fiscal year that began on Sunday, something that cannot be done without a speaker in place.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
So foreign-currency traders will have to do without an important signal about where China’s central bank wants the currency to go.
—WSJ, 27 Sep. 2023
At Disney’s upfront, held in a cavernous space at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the company made do without actors by leaning into its NFL and sports stars, with ESPN2 Manningcast host Peyton Manning and Serena Williams making appearances.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023
See More
IEEE Spectrum, 7 Nov. 2023
Guess Trudeau will have to do without an Ottawa date.
—Vulture, 2 Nov. 2023
That would be incredibly difficult—perhaps even impossible—to do without breaking the end-to-end encryption on platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal.
—WIRED, 26 Oct. 2023
Consider this roundup of tone-perfecting, pore-obscuring, self-effacing winners our way of celebrating the cover-ups that no makeup pro (or makeup bag) could possibly do without.
Don't miss the next big beauty sale.
—Liana Schaffner, Allure, 21 Sep. 2023
The job isn’t worth doing without tips, according to some servers.
—Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sep. 2023
The House and Senate must agree by mid-November on the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government in the fiscal year that began on Sunday, something that cannot be done without a speaker in place.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
So foreign-currency traders will have to do without an important signal about where China’s central bank wants the currency to go.
—WSJ, 27 Sep. 2023
At Disney’s upfront, held in a cavernous space at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the company made do without actors by leaning into its NFL and sports stars, with ESPN2 Manningcast host Peyton Manning and Serena Williams making appearances.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'do without.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near do without
Cite this Entry
“Do without.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do%20without. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
Copy Citation
More from Merriam-Webster on do without
Nglish: Translation of do without for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of do without for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share