WHILE • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of While

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/waɪl/ /hwaɪl/ Listen

conjunction

While conj.

During the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time that; as, while I write, you sleep. "While I have time and space." "Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it."

Hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though; whereas.

While as, While that, during or at the time that. (Obs.)

noun

While n.

Space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a time; as, one while we thought him innocent. "All this while." "This mighty queen may no while endure." "(Some guest that) hath outside his welcome while, And tells the jest without the smile." "I will go forth and breathe the air a while."

That which requires time; labor; pains. (Obs.) "Satan... cast him how he might quite her while."

At whiles, at times; at intervals. "And so on us at whiles it falls, to claim Powers that we dread."

The while, The whiles, in or during the time that; meantime; while.

Within a while, in a short time; soon.

Worth while, 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.

verb

While v. t. (past & past part. whiled; pres. part. whiling) To cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or disgust; to spend or pass; usually followed by away. "The lovely lady whiled the hours away."

While v. i. To loiter. (R.)

preposition

While prep. Until; till. (Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.) "I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight."

See images of 'While'

Etymology of 'While'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"While" Quotes from Famous Books

... scold me, and couldn't. But now it was all so different! Instead of toiling at plain stitching and hemming and sewing, I seemed to be working a bit of lovely tapestry all the time,—so many thoughts and so many pictures went weaving themselves into the work; while every little bit finished appeared so much of the labor of the universe actually done,—accomplished, ended: for the first time in my life, I began to feel myself of consequence enough to be taken care of. I remember once laying ...

— The Vicar's Daughter • George MacDonald

... ceremoniously entertained on the following day. After begging to be allowed to introduce him to us, and receiving permission, he sent his canoe ashore to bring him off. At the same time he gave orders to bring on board his two favourites, a cock and a paroquet. While the canoe was gone on this errand, I had time to regard the savage chief attentively. He was a man of immense size, with massive but beautifully moulded limbs and figure, only parts of which, the broad chest and muscular arms, were uncovered; for, although the lower orders generally wore ...

— The Coral Island - A Tale Of The Pacific Ocean • R. M. Ballantyne

... with them,' said the jockey, 'when I lived with old Fulcher the basket-maker, who took me up when I was adrift upon the world; I do not mean the present Fulcher, who is likewise called old Fulcher, but his father, who has been dead this many a year; while living with him in the caravan, I frequently met them in the green lanes, and of latter years I have had occasional dealings with them in the ...

— The Romany Rye - A Sequel to 'Lavengro' • George Borrow

... skill displayed in the needle-work of the Middle Ages demonstrate the perfection that art had attained; while church inventories, wills, and costumes represented in the miniatures of illuminated manuscripts and elsewhere, amaze us by the quantity as well as the quality of this department of woman's work. Though regal robes and heavy church vestments were sometimes ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 107, September, 1866 • Various

... purple with rage and shame, while his eyes burned with a murderous hate. Rude hands had uncovered his hidden sore; yet ruder speech was making mock of the disgraceful secret. It was of his wife that this coarse bully was speaking! That what he said was probably true—Evelyn herself had admitted much—did ...

— The Just and the Unjust • Vaughan Kester

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