while

Plural: whiles

Noun

• a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition
  • "he was here for a little while"
• An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
• An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
• An uncertain long period of time
• An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
• an uncertain short moment

Conj

• During the same time that.
• Although.
• Until.
• As long as.
• Used to denote a person experiencing racial profiling when performing a seemingly benign activity.

Prep

• Until.

Verb

Verb Forms: whiled, whiling, whiles

• To pass time, especially in a pleasant or leisurely way.
• To pass (time) idly.
• To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
• To elapse, to pass.
• Alternative spelling or misspelling of wile.

Examples

• Driving while intoxicated is against the law.
• He lectured for quite a long while.
• He was detained for four hours at the store yesterday. His crime? Shopping while black.
• He was sleeping while I was singing.
• I lived in Ávila for two lustra while I was a child.
• I whiled away the hours whilst waiting for him to arrive
• I'll wait while you've finished painting.
• It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.
• They would while away the hours playing Scrabble on lazy Sunday afternoons.
• This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
• While I would love to help, I am very busy at the moment.
• While there's quiet I can sleep.
• While you're at school you may live at home.

Synonyms

patch, piece, spell, New York minute, New York second, aeon, age, ages, as, as much as, bat of an eye, bit, blink of an eye, blue moon, coon's age, crack, crow's age, dog's age, donkey's years, eld, eon, eternity, even though, eyeblink, flash, forever, forever and a day, glimpse, half a mo, idle, instant, interim, interlude, interval, jiff, jiffy, jot, laze, lifetime, loiter, long haul, long run, lounge, meantime, minute, mo, moment, month of Sundays, no time, provided that, providing, sec, second, so long as, space, span, split-second, spurt, stound, throw, tick, till, trice, twink, twinkle, twinkling, until, when, while, whilom, whilst, years, yonks

Antonyms

since, until

Anagrams of while