Definitions for While
ʰwaɪl, waɪlWhile

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. while, piece, spell, patch(noun)

   a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition

   "he was here for a little while"; "I need to rest for a piece"; "a spell of good weather"; "a patch of bad weather"

Wiktionary(4.43 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. while(Noun)

   A certain duration of time, a period of time.

   He lectured for quite a long while.

   Etymology: hwil. Cognate with wil.

2. while(Verb)

   To pass (time) idly.

   Etymology: hwil. Cognate with wil.

3. while(Conjunction)

   During the same time that.

   He was sleeping while I was singing.

   Etymology: hwil. Cognate with wil.

4. while(Conjunction)

   although

   This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.

   Etymology: hwil. Cognate with wil.

5. while(Conjunction)

   until

   Etymology: hwil. Cognate with wil.

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. While(noun)

   space of time, or continued duration, esp. when short; a time; as, one while we thought him innocent

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

2. While(noun)

   that which requires time; labor; pains

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

3. While(verb)

   to cause to pass away pleasantly or without irksomeness or disgust; to spend or pass; -- usually followed by away

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

4. While(verb)

   to loiter

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

5. While

   during the time that; as long as; whilst; at the same time that; as, while I write, you sleep

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

6. While

   hence, under which circumstances; in which case; though; whereas

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

7. While

   until; till

   Etymology: [AS. hwl; akin to OS. hwl, hwla, OFries. hwle, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. wla, hwla, hwl, Icel. hvla a bed, hvld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and perhaps to Gr. the proper time of season. 20. Cf. Quiet, Whilom.]

Freebase(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. While

   "While" is a word in the English language that functions both as a noun and as a subordinating conjunction. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's regional dialect. As a conjunction, it is synonymous with the word "whilst", a form often considered archaic in American and Canadian English, as well as in some style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. While

   hwīl, n. a space of time: trouble spent.—adv. during the time that: at the same time that, as long as.—v.t. to cause to pass without irksomeness (with away).—conjs. While, Whilst, as long as: at the same time that: (Shak.) until; Whiles (B.), while, at the same time that.—adv. (Scot.) at times (orig. gen. of A.S. hwíl).—advs. Whī′lom, Whī′lome (Milt.), formerly, once (orig. dat. pl. of A.S. hwíl, time).—Every once in a while, now and then; The while (Shak.), in the meantime; The whilst (Shak.), while: in the meantime; Worth while, worth the trouble and time taken. [A.S. hwíl; Goth. hweila, Ger. weile.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. while

   A period of known time.

   While at the shop we saw some new cheese we thought we'd try.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 19, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'While' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #149

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'While' in Written Corpus Frequency: #554

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'While' in Nouns Frequency: #744

How to pronounce While?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say While in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of While in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of While in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of While in a Sentence

1. Brian Martin:

   While security people are the first to scream ‘don't click those links,’ they are the first to click specific links if the lure of information is there.

2. B. J. Gupta:

   Mahatma is one whose soul doesn't rest in peace while there are tears even in a single eye.

3. Reid Magney:

   While our hearts go out to people who have lost loved ones, Wisconsin law is clear that an absentee ballot can not be counted if the voter has died before Election Day, the law has not changed.

4. Kitty Block:

   This week, while one part of the Japanese government is proudly facilitating international cooperation by hosting the G20 meeting, another is quietly extricating itself from the obligation for global collaboration on the protection and management of the world's whales, japan leaving the IWC and defying international law to pursue its commercial whaling ambitions is renegade, retrograde and myopic....

5. Matthew Keator:

   This isn't enough to derail the rally we've been on, because while markets are fairly valued, when you consider the alternatives equities are still the best asset.

Images & Illustrations of While

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