What are the Abbreviations of “With” and “Without”?

Vocabulary / By

When you want to take notes during an important business meeting or when in class, there are abbreviations that help make the process faster. Both incorporate a slash (/) with either ‘w’ or ‘w’ and ‘o.’ The abbreviations of with are w/ or w. The abbreviations of without are w/o or w.o.

These are really easy and useful devices to help you jot things down and still pay attention to the discussion. There’s no serious memorization but are quicker means to indicate either word.

“With” Abbreviation

To shorten “With” as an abbreviation, write a ‘w’ and then insert a slash (/) alongside it. This will appear as “w/.”

Regular: The most common problems are with government and media lies.
Abbreviated: The most common problems are w/ government and media lies.

Regular: Sam, Ella, and Steve are to go with grandma.
Abbreviated: Sam, Ella, and Steve are to go w/ grandma.

Regular: With picks, axes, and shovels, do the garden today.
Abbreviated: W/ picks, axes, and shovels do the garden today.

Abbreviating “Without”

For abbreviating “Without” it’s basically similar to “With,” but there is an ‘o’ after the slash. This will appear as “w/o.”

Regular: Steak and potatoes but without onions.
Abbreviated: Steak and potatoes but w/o onions.

Regular: We can go without butter, milk, or cheese for now.
Abbreviated: We can go w/o butter, milk, or cheese for now.

Regular: Write the story without fluff, filler, and redundancies.
Abbreviated: Write the story w/o fluff, filler, and redundancies.

Reasons for the Backslash

There was once a time when people would write in shorthand. Jobs like court reporters, secretaries, and administrative assistants required proficiency in it. The slash was an important element to being able to write shorthand.

While shorthand is not around anymore, some of the ways of using it are still in circulation. You will see the slash indicating many other kinds of abbreviations as well.

On mailing addresses, when people want to say “care of,” they will use c/o.
Air conditioning – a/c

Other Ways to Abbreviate “With” and “Without”

You don’t always have to use a slash to abbreviate either “with” or “without.” You can insert a period (.) where the backslash should be instead.

With = w/ or w.

Without = w/o or w.o.

Conclusion

The slash used in conjunction with an arrangement of ‘w’ or ‘w’ and ‘o’ is the most common way to abbreviate “With” or “Without.” But, a period is also acceptable in place of the slash.

Conor
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