while
/wʌɪl
/noun
1A period of time: we chatted for a while she retired a little while ago...
- At this time kidneys were taken a little while after the donor's heart had stopped and death had been pronounced.
- It is safe to assume that the word had been around for a while before 1611.
- There were two bastards in the Jones household for a while - but only one of them was truly Jenny's.
Synonyms
time, spell, stretch, stint, span, season, interval, period, period of time, length of time, duration, run, phase, stage, term
British informal patch
1.1 (a while) For some time: can I keep it a while?...
- Again the industry cooled its heels a while and then brought back the same plan.
2 (the while) At the same time; meanwhile: he starts to draw, talking the while
2.1 literary During the time that: beseeching him, the while his hand she wrung
conjunction
1During the time that; at the same time as: nothing much changed while he was away...
- Now I'm not going to be able to think of anything else but her ears while watching the movie.
- The thing that stayed with me while watching the movie was the sense of dread that something was going to happen.
- The victims were attacked while watching a cricket match between India and Pakistan on television.
2Whereas (indicating a contrast): one person wants out, while the other wants the relationship to continue...
- Danny Slatter has signed a one-year contract, while Russell Edwards has been released.
- Some sought to contradict him, while others tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore his prying.
- Spain is increasing the size of its fishing fleet while ours is contracting.
2.1In spite of the fact that; although: while I wouldn’t recommend a night-time visit, by day the area is full of interest...
- In fact, while they are labeled as such, they are not really fantasy stories in the genre sense.
- In fact, while the experiment was, of necessity, painful, it was far from worthless.
- The fact remains that, while horses may not die of foot-and-mouth, they do carry the disease.
relative adverb
During which: the period while the animal remains alive...
- It is not just for a relatively short period while physical defects to the property are made good.
- There were no words confining the cover to a period while actual repairs were taking place.
- There's a moment's freezing silence while her eyebrows contract like thunder.
verb [with object] (while something away)
Pass time in a leisurely manner: a diversion to while away the long afternoons...
- The English Tea House & Restaurant is a sublime slice of colonial luxury; indeed, most visitors wind up whiling the afternoon away within its convivial surroundings rather than just stopping for lunch.
- When not out with Sanura, Kira spent most of her time in her room and whiled the time away by expressing her obsession through her art.
- People sat under parasols outside the cafes, whiling the day away.
Synonyms
pass, spend, occupy, use up, kill, beguile
preposition Northern English
Until: father will be happy while dinner time
Usage
On the distinction between worth while and worthwhile, see worthwhile (usage). See also awhile (usage).
Phrases
worth while (or worth one's while)
Origin
Old English hwīl 'period of time', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wijl, German Weile; the conjunction is an abbreviation of Old English thā hwīle the 'the while that'.