Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A period of time.
- noun The time, effort, or trouble taken in doing something.
- conjunction As long as; during the time that.
- conjunction In spite of the fact that; although.
- conjunction But; however.
- transitive verb To spend (time) idly or pleasantly.
from The Century Dictionary.
- During or in the time that; as long as.
- At the same time that: often used adversatively.
- Till; until.
- Synonyms While, Though. While implies less of contrast in the parallel than though, sometimes, indeed, implying no contrast at all. Thus we say, “While I admire his bravery, I esteem his moderation;” but “though I admire his courage, I detest his cruelty.”
- At times; sometimes; now and then: used in correlation as while … while. Compare whiles, adv.
- noun A time; a space of time; especially, a short space of time during which something happens or is to happen or be done.
- noun Time spent upon anything; expenditure of time, and hence of pains or labor; trouble: as, to do it is not worth one's while.
- To cause to pass; spend; consume; kill: said of time: usually followed by away.
- To occupy the time of; busy; detain.
- To pass; elapse, as time.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or disgust; to spend or pass; -- usually followed by
away . - intransitive verb rare To loiter.
- conjunction During the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time that.
- conjunction Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though; whereas.
- conjunction [Obs.] during or at the time that.
- noun Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a time.
- noun obsolete That which requires time; labor; pains.
- noun at times; at intervals.
- noun in or during the time that; meantime; while.
- noun in a short time; soon.
- noun worth the time which it requires; worth the time and pains; hence, worth the expense; as, it is not always
worth while for a man to prosecute for small debts. - preposition Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot. Until; till.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A certain duration of time, a period of time.
- conjunction During the same time that.
- conjunction
although - conjunction Northern England, Scotland
until - verb transitive To
pass (time )idly .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word while.
Examples
-
Gibreel, with the Imam riding him like a carpet, swoops lower, and in the steaming night it looks as if the streets are alive, they seem to be writhing, like snakes; while in front of the palace of the Empress's defeat a new hill seems to be growing, _while we watch, baba, what's going on here?
The Satanic Verses Rushdie, Salman 1967
-
Alexander, dum inter prīmōrēs pugnat, sagittā ictus est, _Alexander, while he was fighting in the van, was struck by an arrow_; dum haec geruntur, in fīnēs Venellōrum pervēnit, _while these things were being done, he arrived in the territory of the Venelli_.
New Latin Grammar Charles E. Bennett
-
"I do not know -- but someday you and all in the world will see it, when the Earth people are kind to each other -- not once in a while, but every day -- _all the while_ --"
Half-Past Seven Stories Robert Gordon Anderson
-
Even while we write, and for years back, a charge lies in the department of the Minister of Finance, against the present Premier of the Dominion, accusing that unscrupulous individual of conspiring with a whisky dealer, _while he himself was First Minister of the Crown_, to defraud the revenue -- a charge made by the present Assistant Commissioner of Customs and
Ridgeway An Historical Romance of the Fenian Invasion of Canada Scian Dubh 1855
-
"Thou hast immanacled while Heaven sees good," he explains that "_while_ here has the sense of _so long as_."
Among My Books Second Series James Russell Lowell 1855
-
I. i.33 (231,5) [be better employ'd, and be nought a while] Warburton explained [ "be nought a while" as "a mischief on you"] If _be nought a while_ has the signification here given it, the reading may certainly stand; but till I learned its meaning from this note, I read,
Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies Samuel Johnson 1746
-
But I swear that she shall never marry him while I live, "he ended in a kind of shout and the domed and painted ceiling echoed back his words --" _while I live_ "after which the room was silent, save for the heavy thumping of his heart.
A Yellow God: an Idol of Africa Henry Rider Haggard 1890
-
The court, however, sentenced Tuncel to 10 1/2 years in prison for a separate crime, his role in a bombing a McDonald's restaurant in 2004 in Black Sea port city of Trabzon and ordered his release from prison since he already completed his term while awaiting a verdict.
-
The court, however, sentenced Tuncel to 10 1/2 years in prison for a separate crime, his role in a bombing a McDonald's restaurant in 2004 in Black Sea port city of Trabzon and ordered his release from prison since he already completed his term while awaiting a verdict.
-
The court, however, sentenced Tuncel to 10 1/2 years in prison for a separate crime, his role in a bombing a McDonald's restaurant in 2004 in Black Sea port city of Trabzon and ordered his release from prison since he already completed his term while awaiting a verdict.
The Seattle Times 2012
oroboros commented on the word while
Although.
November 12, 2007
mollusque commented on the word while
Whiling away, huh?
November 12, 2007