do without — manage without
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To cope or continue even though you do not have something you usually need or want.
Say it like a native
Textbook We shall have to manage in the absence of a car.
Native We'll just have to do without a car.
'Do without' compactly means manage lacking something; the formal paraphrase is clunky.
Pattern: do without (something/someone)
In use
- During the power cut, we had to do without electricity for several hours.daily life
- If I had to do without the internet for a week, I think it would be really difficult because I use it for both studying and staying in touch with friends.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I can't do without of my morning coffee.
✓ I can't do without my morning coffee.
'Do without' takes the object directly — no 'of'.
Common collocations
do without + thing— a car, luxuries, it, your help
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'do with', which means to want or need something.