do without
(Redirected from can do without)
English[edit]
Verb[edit]
do without (third-person singular simple present does without, present participle doing without, simple past did without, past participle done without)
- (chiefly transitive) To manage despite the lack of.
- If you are prepared to do without a break in the summer, we could have a really good skiing holiday in winter.
- During the Great Depression, she learned to do without.
- I could do without the sarcasm.
- 1916 March 11, H.G. Wells, “What is Coming”, in Saturday Evening Post[1]:
- Let us consider the charges against this individual. Let us ask, Can we do without him?
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see do, without.
Usage notes[edit]
Often used subjunctively with could, be able to, etc. as a litotes for to have no need whatsoever for, to dislike, etc.
Synonyms[edit]
- (manage despite the lack of): dispense with
Translations[edit]
manage
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See also[edit]
- (manage despite the lack of): go without
Further reading[edit]
- “do without”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.