n.

1. A period of time: stay for a while; sang all the while. See Usage Note at awhile.
2. The time, effort, or trouble taken in doing something: The project wasn't worth my while.

conj.

1. As long as; during the time that: It was lovely while it lasted.
2. At the same time that; although: While the grandparents love the children, they are strict with them.
3. Whereas; and: The soles are leather, while the uppers are canvas.

tr.v., whiled, whil·ing, whiles.

To spend (time) idly or pleasantly: while the hours away.

[Middle English, from Old English hwīl.]

noun

1. A rather short period: bit¹, space, spell³, time. See big/small/amount.
2. The use of energy to do something: effort, endeavor, exertion, pain (used in plural), strain¹, striving, struggle, trouble. Informal elbow grease. See work/play.

verb

To pass (time) without working or in avoiding work. dawdle (away), fiddle away, idle (away), kill¹, trifle away, waste, wile (away). See industrious/lazy.

Idioms beginning with while:
while back
while away
while there's life there's hope

See also all the time (while); a while back; every now and then (once in a while); fiddle while Rome burns; get out while the getting is good; in a while; make hay while the sun shines; once in a while; quit while you're ahead; strike while the iron's hot; worth one's while.

---

IN BRIEF: A period of time.

Enjoy life while it is happening. — Richard L. Evans (1906-1971), American religious leader.

Common misspelling(s) of while

• hwile

Dansk (Danish)
n. - et stykke tid, stund, tid
conj. - så længe, medens, selvom, skønt
adv. - i løbet af
v. tr. - fordrive tiden, få tiden til at gå
prep. - indtil, så længe

idioms:

• all the while    alt imens
• for a while    i nogen tid

Nederlands (Dutch)
terwijl, tijd(je), hoewel

Français (French)
n. - laps de temps, temps, effort, ou mal pris à faire qch
conj. - alors que, lorsque, bien que, quoique, tant que, pendant que, en (même temps que), tout en, tandis que
adv. - pendant le temps que, au même moment que
v. tr. - passer le temps agréablement, passer le temps de manière oisive
prep. - jusqu'à ce que

idioms:

• all the while    tout en, depuis le début
• for a while    un peu, un moment

Deutsch (German)
conj. - während, solange, obgleich
prep. - während
n. - Weile, Zeit
adv. - der Mühe wert sein

idioms:

• all the while    während dieser Zeit
• for a while    für eine Weile

Ελληνική (Greek)
conj. - ενώ, μολονότι, αν και, παρ'όλο (που)
prep. - ενόσω, όσο (καιρό ή διάστημα)
n. - χρονικό διάστημα, χρόνος, καιρός
v. - διατρίβω, περνάω τον καιρό

idioms:

• all the while    καθ' όλο το (μεσολαβούν) διάστημα
• for a while    για ένα διάστημα

Italiano (Italian)
mentre, periodo

idioms:

• all the while    durante
• worth (one's) while    vale la pena

Português (Portuguese)
conj., -
prep. - enquanto
n. - tempo (m)
v. - passar o tempo

idioms:

• all the while    o tempo todo
• for a while    por enquanto
• worth (one's) while    respeitar o tempo de alguém

Русский (Russian)
в то время как, пока, когда, тогда как, хотя, несмотря на то, что, а также, кроме того, не только..., но и, проводить время, время, затраченные усилия и время

idioms:

• all the while    все это время
• for a while    на некоторое время
• worth (one's) while    стоит затраченного времени или труда

Español (Spanish)
n. - rato, tiempo
conj. - mientras, mientras que, en tanto que
adv. - mientras, mientras que, en tanto que
v. tr. - pasar (el rato), entretener (el tiempo), pasar (el tiempo) divirtiéndose.
prep. - hasta

idioms:

• all the while    todo ese tiempo
• for a while    por algún tiempo

Svenska (Swedish)
conj. - medan, under det att, så länge
prep. - tills
n. - stund
v. - fördriva (tid)

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
一会儿, 时间, 当...的时候, 虽然, 一会儿地, 消磨, 直到

idioms:

• all the while    一直, 始终
• for a while    暂时

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 一會兒, 時間
conj. - 當...的時候, 雖然
adv. - 一會兒地
v. tr. - 消磨
prep. - 直到

idioms:

• all the while    一直, 始終
• for a while    暫時

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 동안, 잠시, (특정한) 때
conj. - ~하는 동안, ~라고는 하나, 게다가
adv. - 잠시
v. tr. - (시간을) 느긋하게 보내다
prep. - ~까지

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 時間
conj. - …する間に, …である限りは, …なのに, 一方…

idioms:

• all the while    その間ずっと
• for a while    しばらくの間
• while the going is good    状況が悪くならないうちに

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف عطف) حيثما, بينما, ما دام (حرف جر) حتى ذلك الحين, في أثناء, على الرغم من, في حين (الاسم) فترة, برهه, هنينه, مدة قصيرة (فعل) يقطع الوقت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פרק-זמן‬
conj. - ‮בעת-, בשעה ש-, כל עוד ש-, למרות ש-, אך, ואילו-‬
adv. - ‮שבמהלכו/ה‬
v. tr. - ‮בילה (זמן) באורח מהנה‬
prep. - ‮עד (מיושן)‬

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