While — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/wˌaɪl/

🇬🇧British English

/wˌaɪl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/wˌaɪl/

1 syllable Say it as /wˌaɪl/.

Examples

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

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

spell patch piece

Parts of Speech

noun	a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition “he was here for a little while”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

während

ein Zeitraum von unbestimmter Länge (normalerweise kurz), der durch eine Aktion oder Bedingung gekennzeichnet ist

🇫🇷French

alors que

une période de durée indéterminée (généralement courte) marquée par une action ou une condition

🇪🇸Spanish

mientras

un período de duración indeterminada (generalmente corto) marcado por alguna acción o condición

🇮🇹Italian

Mentre

un periodo di durata indeterminata (solitamente breve) segnato da qualche azione o condizione

🇳🇱Dutch

terwijl

een periode van onbepaalde duur (meestal kort), gekenmerkt door een actie of toestand

🇵🇹Portuguese

enquanto

um período de duração indeterminada (geralmente curto) marcado por alguma ação ou condição

🇷🇺Russian

пока

период неопределенной продолжительности (обычно короткий), отмеченный каким-либо действием или состоянием

India

🇮🇳Hindi

जबकि

किसी क्रिया या स्थिति द्वारा चिह्नित अनिश्चित लंबाई की अवधि (आमतौर पर छोटी)।

🇧🇩Bengali

যখন

কিছু ক্রিয়া বা শর্ত দ্বারা চিহ্নিত অনিশ্চিত দৈর্ঘ্যের (সাধারণত ছোট) সময়কাল

🇮🇳Tamil

போது

🇮🇳Telugu

అయితే

అనిశ్చిత పొడవు (సాధారణంగా చిన్నది) కొంత చర్య లేదా షరతు ద్వారా గుర్తించబడింది

🇮🇳Marathi

असताना

अनिश्चित लांबीचा कालावधी (सहसा लहान) काही क्रिया किंवा स्थितीद्वारे चिन्हांकित

🇮🇳Gujarati

જ્યારે

અમુક ક્રિયા અથવા સ્થિતિ દ્વારા ચિહ્નિત થયેલ અનિશ્ચિત લંબાઈ (સામાન્ય રીતે ટૂંકી) નો સમયગાળો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സമയത്ത്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਜਦਕਿ

ਕਿਸੇ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਜਾਂ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹਿਤ ਅਨਿਸ਼ਚਿਤ ਲੰਬਾਈ (ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਛੋਟਾ) ਦੀ ਮਿਆਦ

🇵🇰Urdu

جبکہ

غیر متعین لمبائی کی مدت (عام طور پر مختصر) کسی عمل یا حالت سے نشان زد ہوتی ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

尽管

以某种行为或条件为标志的一段不确定长度（通常很短）的时期

🇯🇵Japanese

その間

何らかの行動または条件によって特徴付けられる、不定の長さの（通常は短い）期間

🇰🇷Korean

~하는 동안

어떤 행동이나 조건에 의해 표시되는 불확실한 길이(보통 짧은)의 기간

🇻🇳Vietnamese

trong khi

một khoảng thời gian có độ dài không xác định (thường là ngắn) được đánh dấu bằng một số hành động hoặc điều kiện

🇹🇭Thai

ในขณะที่

ระยะเวลาที่มีความยาวไม่แน่นอน (มักสั้น) ที่เกิดจากการกระทำหรือเงื่อนไขบางอย่าง

🇮🇩Indonesian

ketika

suatu periode yang panjangnya tidak dapat ditentukan (biasanya pendek) yang ditandai oleh suatu tindakan atau kondisi

🇵🇭Filipino

habang

isang yugto ng hindi tiyak na haba (karaniwan ay maikli) na minarkahan ng ilang aksyon o kundisyon

🇲🇾Malay

sementara

tempoh yang tidak tentu panjang (biasanya pendek) yang ditandakan dengan beberapa tindakan atau keadaan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

بينما

فترة غير محددة الطول (عادةً ما تكون قصيرة) وتتميز ببعض الإجراءات أو الحالات

🇮🇷Persian

در حالی که

دوره ای با طول نامشخص (معمولاً کوتاه) که با یک عمل یا شرایط مشخص می شود

🇹🇷Turkish

sırasında

bir eylem veya durumla işaretlenen belirsiz uzunluktaki (genellikle kısa) bir süre

🇮🇱Hebrew

בְּעוֹד

תקופה באורך בלתי מוגדר (בדרך כלל קצר) המסומנת על ידי פעולה או מצב כלשהו

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'while'?

The primary meaning of 'while' is 'a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'while' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'while' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'while' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'while' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'while' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'while' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'while' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'while' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'while' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'while' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted