This preposition denotes absence or separation from something essential or expected. In Matthew 10:29, it describes God's sovereign awareness—not even a sparrow falls 'without' the Father's knowledge. Peter uses it twice in his first epistle to describe Christian witness and hospitality that proceed 'without' verbal proclamation (3:1) or grumbling (4:9). The word always takes the genitive case and emphasizes the notable absence of what follows.