noun
definition
An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
example
He lectured for quite a long while.
verb
definition
To pass (time) idly.
synonyms
definition
To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
definition
To loiter.
synonyms
preposition
definition
Until.
conjunction
definition
During the same time that.
example
He was sleeping while I was singing.
definition
Although.
example
This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
definition
Until.
example
I'll wait while you've finished painting.
definition
As long as.
example
While you're at school you may live at home.
definition
(public policy) Used to denote an individual experiencing racial profiling when performing a seemingly benign activity.
example
He was detained for four hours at the store yesterday. His crime? Shopping while black.
Examples of while in a Sentence
I don't want you to drive while you're so tired.
While waiting for the food to arrive, we were happy to sit and chat in the relaxing surroundings.
She waited while he poured a cup of coffee.
Can one be well while suffering morally?
They stay awake at night while researchers work in the daytime.
While there is life there is happiness.
The stock soared while in the hope of a takeover bid.
While the few may be for war, the many are almost always for peace.
While talking to Tikhon he asked about me twice.
WhileI thought it was going to rainafter lunch, it didn't.
While these things go up other things come down.
We loiter in winter while it is already spring.
While kings claimed they ruled by a divine right, dictators claimed their right to rule through might.
A coloring book and crayons kept her busy while they worked and talked.
I used to make noises, keeping one hand on my throat while the other hand felt the movements of my lips.
While we were in Boston we visited Bunker Hill, and there I had my first lesson in history.
He got better while in the hands of the Spanish medical services who had undertaken to care for him.
After a while he rang the bell again, very loudly.
We gave him something to eat a while ago.
They came while we were eating breakfast, and my friends enjoyed them with me.
After a while they were left alone again.
Wait till he rests a while, and then he'll be in a better humor.
So while such an attack and its aftermath would not derail our eventual arrival at the next golden age, it quite possibly would delay it.
For a while he was kept in the general hospital at Allegheny.
While watching his flocks, he spent much of his time in reading.
Mildred and I had our pictures taken while we were in Huntsville.
As long as these states were to share a currency, a military, provide for interstate trade, and have a single foreign policy, they could retain the economic advantages of being a large nation while maximizing individual liberty and self-determination.
Near the top of a hill he saw a little shepherd boy who was lying on the ground while a flock of sheep and lambs were grazing around him.
I promised to keep still while she went to the house to fetch it.
Blindfolded, they knocked it around for a while until it broke, spilling candy all over the floor.
While Simonides was outside, the roof of the house caved in and killed everyone.
I just want to sit here a little while.
Processing aurally was familiar to Augustine while reading silently was revelatory, so noteworthy that he wrote it in his autobiography.
She returned to the group where the vicomte was still talking, and again pretended to listen, while waiting till it would be time to leave.
They sat her in front of a mirror while Felipa worked.
When you bring the babies home, can I come stay with you for a while and help take care of them?
Then it must have happened while I was asleep, he said thoughtfully.
And I would keep my little hand on her face all the while, because it amused me to feel her face and lips move when she talked with people.
While he was thinking one thing in his brain, I was endeavoring to divine his thought in mine.
It is not worth the while to snivel about it.
Dorothy was nearly weeping, by this time, while Ozma was angry and indignant.
Once while I was calling on him in Boston he acted the most striking parts of "The Rivals" for me.
He made me sit in his armchair, while he brought different interesting things for me to examine, and at his request I recited "The Chambered Nautilus," which was then my favorite poem.
The flowers did not seem to give her pleasure, and she was very quiet while we stayed there.
So, we are told, the New Hollander goes naked with impunity, while the European shivers in his clothes.
I moved to the kitchen doorway while she removed the muffins.
While she wasn't as successful as Martha, it usually ultimately worked.
One buffet table sagged beneath the weight of five kegs while another held food wrapped in cellophane and tinfoil.
Panting, he rolled onto his back, unable to regain his balance while his body twitched from magic.
Then he remained silent for a while, and all at once looked cheerfully with his glittering, black eyes at Rostov.