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 something

I 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

But it cannot be done without new projects with foreign allies. —Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Dec. 2025

Walz said in a press conference on Thursday that his office is working to bring those involved in fraud in Minnesota to justice, but said it can be done without generalizations about a whole group of people. —Tesfaye Negussie, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2025

Sidewalk and driveway projects, too, can be done without a permit. —Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Dec. 2025

Some of them probably were done without sufficient care. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for do without

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout