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
Further, legislators have decided that school districts must pay for busing for students who attend private schools while the students who attend public schools in those districts do without due to shrinking funding from Ohio.
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Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025
Mirepoix is the basis for tomato sauces, soups, and rich meat dishes like Beef Bourguignon, and it really can’t be done without onions.
—Stacey Lastoe, Southern Living, 14 Oct. 2025
The best way to determine that would be to run computer models with weather balloon data fed into them and without it, in what is known as a data denial experiment — impossible to do without the data itself.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Indeed, that's probably my primary impression; the 505 gets the job done without a ton of intervention.
—Loz Blain
october 14, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for do without
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025
Mirepoix is the basis for tomato sauces, soups, and rich meat dishes like Beef Bourguignon, and it really can’t be done without onions.
—Stacey Lastoe, Southern Living, 14 Oct. 2025
The best way to determine that would be to run computer models with weather balloon data fed into them and without it, in what is known as a data denial experiment — impossible to do without the data itself.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Indeed, that's probably my primary impression; the 505 gets the job done without a ton of intervention.
—Loz Blain
october 14, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for do without
Cite this Entry
“Do without.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do%20without. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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