# without

> English word · Adverb · IPA /wɪðˈaʊt/ · frequency rank #193

## Definitions
1. Outside, externally.
2. Lacking something; failing.
3. Without a condom being worn.

## 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.
Superseded non-native Middle English sauns, sans (“without”), from Old French sans, sanz, senz (“without”).
Compare typologically Proto-Slavic *bez (“without”) (<+ Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs (“out”)).

## Easily confused with
- **wipeout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wipeout-vs-without)

## Common misspellings (10)
`iwthout`, `wihtout`, `withhout`, `withotu`, `withoutt`, `withuot`, `witohut`, `witthout`, `wtihout`, `wwithout`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/without