while
English · Thesaurus
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
while¹
- /ʍaɪl/
- /waɪl/
- /wæl/ US, unstressed
- /wɑl/ US, unstressed
Sounds like wile (wine–whine merger) · Rhymes with -aɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).
noun whiles
- An uncertain duration of time, a period of time. It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.
-
An uncertain long period of time
I'm afraid it will be a while until the doctor can see you.
Similar: spell, space, throw, while, age, aeon, ages, blue moon, coon's age, crow's age, dog's age, donkey's years
-
An uncertain short moment.
Similar: spell, space, throw, while, bit, bat of an eye, blink of an eye, crack, eyeblink, flash, glimpse, half a mo
conjunction
-
During the same time that.
He was sleeping while I was singing.
Similar: whilst
-
Although.
This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
Similar: as much as
-
Until.
I'll wait while you've finished painting.
Similar: till
-
As long as.
While you're at school you may live at home.
Similar: provided that, providing, so long as
preposition
- Until. I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
verb whiles · whiling · whiled
- To pass (time) idly. I whiled away the hours whilst waiting for him to arrive
- To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass. They whiled them with such answere as suted to their purposes, and long adoe was made in weaving and unweaving Penelopes web, till the Spanish Armada was upon the Coast, and the very Ordnance proclaimed in their eares a surcease from further illusions.
- To elapse, to pass. The tedious hours whiled slowly on, 'till the succeeding afternoon, when the expected carriage made its appearance much sooner than they had promised themselves.
while²
- /ʍaɪl/
- /waɪl/
Sounds like wile (wine–whine merger) · Rhymes with -aɪl
verb whiles · whiling · whiled
- Alternative spelling or misspelling of wile There it lies before me sparkling in the sun, whiling me as it often does from my pen or book to gaze upon its loveliness.
While³
proper noun
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: piece, spell, meanwhile, moment, whilst, then, whereas, besides, once, after, notwithstanding, though, because, period, throughout, point
Translations
Every language
noun uncertain duration of time, a period of time
| Español | rato |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 한참 hancham, 기간 gigan, 동안 dong'an |
| 日本語 | 期間 kikan |
| 中文 | 一段時間 /一段时间 yī duàn shíjiān |
| Português | tempo |
| Français | moment |
| Deutsch | Weile, Weilchen n diminutive, Zeitspanne |
| Italiano | periodo, po', lasso di tempo |
| Ελληνικά | διάστημα diástima, χρόνος chrónos |
| Română | vreme |
| Русский | вре́мя vrémja, промежу́ток вре́мени promežútok vrémeni |
| العربية | مُدَّة mudda, فَتْرَة fatra |
conj during the same time that
| Español | mientras, mientras que, mientra (desus.), demientra (desus.) |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 동안 dong'an |
| 日本語 | ...間に ...aida ni, ...時に ...toki ni, ...ながら ...nagara |
| 中文 | ...的時候 /...的时候 ...de shíhou, 當 /当 dāng |
| Português | enquanto |
| Français | pendant que, tant que, tandis que, alors que |
| Deutsch | während, solange |
| Italiano | mentre |
| Ελληνικά | καθώς kathós, ενώ enó, ενόσω enóso |
| Română | în timp ce |
| Русский | пока́ poká, до тех пор, пока́ do tex por, poká, в то вре́мя, как v to vrémja, kak, во вре́мя vo vrémja |
| Tiếng Việt | trong khi, trong lúc |
| العربية | فِي حِين fī ḥīn, بَيْنَمَا baynamā |
| עברית | בזמן ש־ biz'mán she- |
conj although
| Español | aunque, si bien, bien que, aun cuando |
|---|---|
| Português | embora, malgrado |
| Français | tandis que, bien que, quoique |
| Deutsch | obwohl, obgleich, während, auch wenn |
| Italiano | malgrado, benché, sebbene |
| Ελληνικά | ενώ enó, καίτοι kaítoi, αν και an kai, μολονότι molonóti |
| Română | deși |
| Русский | хотя́ xotjá |
conj as long as
| Español | en tanto que, con tal que, siempre y cuando, mientras |
|---|---|
| Français | tant que |
| Deutsch | solange |
| Ελληνικά | εφόσον efóson |
| Română | cât timp |
verb to loiter
| Deutsch | vertrödeln |
|---|
verb to entertain (someone) in order to let time pass
| Deutsch | unterhalten, beschäftigen, (gemeinsam) die Zeit verbringen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | intrattenere |
Talk about this word "while." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/while. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. while. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/while "while." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/while.Cite this
@misc{while_2026,
title = {while},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/while},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
