Usage Note: As a conjunction, while is used to indicate that two events are happening at the same time (While I was preparing the hamburger patties, she sliced the onions and tomatoes), but it can also be used to contrast two clauses in a nontemporal way (While the "h" is silent in the word "honest," it is pronounced in the word "hostile"). While has been used in this nontemporal sense for hundreds of years, and the latter sentence was judged acceptable by 75 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2012 survey. The Panel was somewhat less accepting, however, of this use of while in a sentence where it could potentially be misread as having a temporal meaning (31 percent disapproved of the sentence She said she wanted to go to a movie, while he proposed seeing a play). And 43 percent disapproved of a sentence in which the two contrasting clauses are explicitly not simultaneous: While the Tigers beat the Cubs last week, this week the Cubs beat the Tigers. To avoid ambiguity or an unintended suggestion of simultaneity, choose a different conjunction, such as although or whereas.
1. (subordinating) at the same time that: please light the fire while I'm cooking.
2. (subordinating) all the time that: I stay inside while it's raining.
3. (subordinating) in spite of the fact that: while I agree about his brilliance I still think he's rude.
4. (coordinating) whereas; and in contrast: flats are expensive, while houses are cheap.
5. (subordinating; used with a gerund) during the activity of: while walking I often whistle.
prep, conj
dialectScotandNorthern English another word for until: you'll have to wait while Monday for these sheets; you'll never make any progress while you listen to me.
n
6. (usually used in adverbial phrases) a period or interval of time: once in a long while.
7. trouble or time (esp in the phrase worth one's while): it's hardly worth your while to begin work today.
8. the while at that time: he was working the while.
[Old English hwīl; related to Old High German hwīla (German Weile), Gothic hveila, Latin quiēs peace, tranquīlus tranquil]
Usage: It was formerly considered incorrect to use while to mean in spite of the fact that or whereas, but these uses have now become acceptable
while - 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"
time - an indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities); "he waited a long time"; "the time of year for planting"; "he was a great actor in his time"
2. it is worth while to ask whether → vale la penapreguntar si ... we'll make it worth your while → te compensaremosgenerosamente it's not worth my while → no me vale la pena
B.CONJ
1. (= during the time that) → mientras while this was happening → mientras pasaba esto she fell asleep while reading → se durmió mientras leía while you are away → mientras estés fuera to drink while on duty → beber estando de servicio
2. (= as long as) → mientras (que) it won't happen while I'm here → no pasará mientras (que) yo esté aquí
3. (= although) → aunque while I admit it is awkward → aunque reconozco que es difícil
4. (= whereas) → mientras que I enjoy sport, while he prefers reading → a mí me gusta el deporte, mientras que él prefiere la lectura
while awayVT + ADVto while away the time or the hours → pasarel tiempoor el rato
n → momentm for a while → pendant un moment I lived in London for a while → J'ai vécu à Londres pendant un moment. after a while → au bout d'un moment quite a while → un bon moment I haven't seen him for quite a while → Cela fait un bon moment que je ne l'ai pas vu. a while ago → il y aun moment He was here a while ago → Il était là il y a un moment. a book that I read a little while ago BUTun livre que j'ai lu il y a peu de temps. quite a while ago → il y a un bon moment in a while → dans un moment all the while → pendant tout ce temps-là
(when) → pendant que While I was in London she was in Paris → Pendant que j'étais à Londres, elle était à Paris. She never went there while her husband was alive BUTElle ne n'y est jamais allé du vivant de son mari. There was never any trouble while we were living there BUTIl n'y a jamais eu de problème quand nous vivions là-bas.
(= though) (with clause) → quoique + subj; (with adjective) → quoique While I'm fond of him, I don't actually want to marry him → Quoique je l'aime bien, je ne veux pas vraiment l'épouser. Your letter, while complete in other regards, avoided the subject of cost → Votre lettre, quoique complète à d'autres égards, évitait la question du coût.
→ Weilef, → Weilchennt (inf); for a while → (für) eine Weile, eine Zeit lang; (= a short moment) → (für) einen AugenblickorMoment; a good or long while → eine ganzeorlangeWeile, eine ganze Zeit lang; for/after quite a while → ziemlichor recht lange, (für) eine geraume/nach einer geraumenWeile(geh); a little or short while → ein Weilchen(inf), → kurze Zeit; it’ll be ready in a short while → es wirdbaldfertig sein; a little while ago → vor Kurzem; a long while ago → vor einer ganzenWeile, vor längerer orlanger Zeit; some while ago → vor einiger Zeit; all the while → die ganze Zeit (über)
to be worth (one’s) while to … → sich (für jdn) lohnen, zu …; we’ll make it worth your while → es soll ihr Schadennicht sein
conj
→ während; (= as long as) → solange; she fell asleep while reading → sie schliefbeimLesen ein; he became famous while still young → er wurdeberühmt, als er noch jung war; you must not drink while on duty → Sie dürfen im Dienstnichttrinken
(= although)while one must admit there are difficulties … → man muss zwarzugeben, dass es Schwierigkeitengibt, trotzdem …; while the text is not absolutely perfect, nevertheless … → obwohl (zwar) der Textnichteinwandfrei ist, … trotzdem; it is difficult to be fair while at the same time being honest → es ist schwierig, fair und gleichzeitig auch gerechtzu sein
a. (during the time that) → mentre; (as long as) → finché, mentre while this was happening → mentre avveniva questo she fell asleep while reading → si addormentò mentre stavaleggendo it won't happen while I'm here → non accadrà finché sono qui io
1. during the time that. I saw him while I was out walking. terwyl بينَما докато enquanto když während mens ενώmientras sel ajal kui درطی samaan aikaan kun pendant queכאשר अरसा dok (a)míg, mialatt ketika á meðan mentre ～する間に …하는 동안에 tuo metu, kai; kol tobrīd, kad sementara terwijlmens; under, så lenge podczas enquanto în timp ce пока; в то время как keď medtem ko dok medan, under det att ขณะที่ arken, iken 正當... в той час як جس وقت میں trong khi 当...的时候
2. although. While I sympathize, I can't really do very much to help. hoewel مع أنَّ въпреки embora ačkoli wenn auch selvom αν και, μολονότιaunque kuigi اگرچه vaikka bien que בִּזמָן שֶׁ- हालांकि iako bár meskipun enda þótt sebbene ～であるのに …에 반하여, …인데도 nors lai gan walaupun hoewelselv omaczkolwiek embora deşi хотя hoci čeprav iako även om ถึงแม้ว่า ...-diği hâlde, ...-se de 雖然 незважаючи на те, що حالانکہ mặc dù 虽然，尽管
noun
a space of time. It took me quite a while; It's a long while since we saw her. 'n rukkie فَتْرَه، بُرْهَه време um bocado chvíle, doba die Weile stykke tid χρονικό διάστημα algún tiempo; mucho tiempo aeg, tükk aega برای مدتی aika longtemps; quelque temps פֶּרֶק זְמָן समय neko vrijeme, dosta vremena (bizonyos) idő (jangka waktu) lama tími, stund po', momento しばらくの間 (짧은) 시간, 기간, 동안 laiko tarpas, valandėlė labs brītiņš tempoh masa yang tidak pasti poostid, stundchwila, pewien czas um bocado ceva timp промежуток времени chvíľa, doba čas dugo vremena stund, tid ชั่วขณะหนึ่ง zaman süresi 一段時間 час, відрізок часу وقت một lúc 一会儿
while away
to pass (time) without boredom. He whiled away the time by reading. spandeer, bestee, verwyl يَقْضي الوَقْت، يَقْتُل الوَقْت прекарвам неусетно passar o tempo strávit sich (die Zeit) vertreiben fordrive περνώ, σκοτώνω την ώρα μου pasar el tiempo/rato aega veetma سپرى کردن kuluttaa aikaa passer לְהַעֲבִיר זְמָן आनंद लेते हुए समय बिताना protratiti vrijeme eltölt (időt) merintang waktu láta tímann líða (passare il tempo) 過ごす 시간이 바쁘게 지나가다 leisti īsināt laiku menghabiskan masa verdoenfordrive, få tida til å gå zabijać czas, skracać sobie passar o tempo a face să treacă (timpul) коротать время stráviť prijetno preživeti ubiti vreme fördriva ทำให้เวลาผ่านไป sıkılmadan vakit geçirmek 消磨 проводити час وقت گزارنا sử dụng thời gian 消磨
worth one's while
worth one's time and trouble. It's not worth your while reading this book, because it isn't accurate. die moeite werd, die loon werd جَدير بالوَقْت الذي يُنفَق عَلَيْه заслужавам си valer a pena stát za to der Mühe wert være umagen værd που αξίζει τον κόπο valer la pena tasuma, kasu olema ارزش سپری کردن زمان را نداشتن maksaa vaivan qui vaut la peine (de) שָווֵה לְך लाभदायक biti vrijedan vremena megéri a fáradságot layak menyita waktu, memadai sem borgar sig (che non vale la pena) ～する価値がある ...할 가치가 있는 verta, apsimoka (nav) vērts berbaloi de moeite waardumaken verd, lønne seg wart zachodu valer a pena care merită efortul стоить затраченного времени, усилий stáť za to vredno truda vredan truda คุ้มค่ากับเวลาที่เสียไป değer 值得某人花時間和力氣 вартий; доцільний جو کسی کے وقت کا صحیح مصرف ہو tận dụng thời gian 值得花时间和精力的
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