While

Noun

 * 1) A certain duration of time, a period of time.
 * He lectured for quite a long while.

Conjunction

 * 1) During the same time that.
 * He was sleeping while I was singing.
 * 1) * 1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
 * While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
 * 1) although
 * This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
 * 1)  until
 * I'll wait while you've finished painting.

Verb

 * 1)  To pass (time) idly.

Derived terms

 * while away
 * meanwhile
 * the while

Related terms

 * whilst
 * awhile

Thesaurus
albeit, although, amuse, as far as, as long as, at which time, beguile, bit, brighten, chronology, continuity, day, divert, duration, duree, during which time, elbow grease, enliven, entertain, exertion, fateful moment, hour, howbeit, instant, interval, juncture, kairos, lastingness, lighten, meantime, meanwhile, minute, moment, moment of truth, pains, period, point, pregnant moment, psychological moment, psychological time, season, space, space-time, span, spell, stage, stretch, tense, term, the future, the past, the present, the while, tide, time, time lag, timebinding, trouble, when, whereas, whet, whilst, wile

Etymology
hwil:.

Noun

 * Catalan:
 * Czech:
 * Dutch:, , een hele tijd
 * Finnish: aika, hetki
 * French:
 * German:, Weilchen diminutive, Zeitspanne
 * Interlingua: tempore
 * Kurdish:
 * Latin:
 * Norwegian:


 * Old English:
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian: (in this meaning, always with adjective); промежуток времени (promežútok vrémeni)
 * Scottish Gaelic:
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: ,
 * West Frisian:

Conjunction

 * Arabic:, عندما
 * Catalan: mentre
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,  ,
 * Czech:
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto:
 * French:, ,
 * German: ,
 * Greek:, ,
 * Ido: dum, dum ke
 * Indonesian:
 * Interlingua: durante que
 * Irish:
 * Italian:


 * Japanese: ,
 * Korean: 하는 동안
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål:
 * Nynorsk:
 * Polish:
 * Portuguese:
 * Romanian: în timp ce
 * Russian:, до тех пор, пока,  в то время, как
 * Serbo-Croatian: док, dok
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish:
 * Turkish: ,


 * Catalan: malgrat
 * Czech:
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish: vaikka
 * French:, ,
 * German: obwohl
 * Greek:, καίτοι,  ,  μολονότι
 * Interlingua: ben que


 * Italian: ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Navajo:
 * Portuguese: ,
 * Romanian: deşi
 * Russian:
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:
 * Turkish: rağmen

Verb

 * Spanish: