while
noun/waɪl/
[singular]Слово англійською: while
Переклад while українською: час, проміжок часу
Детальний опис
- a period of time
- for a while I only stayed for a short while.
- They chatted for a while.
- I haven't seen him for quite a while (= a fairly long time).
- He is fitter now than he has been for a long while.
- after a while After a while John started to relax a bit.
- in a while I'll be back in a little while (= a short time).
- It took me a while (= a fairly long time) to realize what he meant.
- This could take a while (= a long time), so be patient.
- They walked back together, talking all the while (= all the time).
- for the while There's no need to do anything for the while (= for a short time).
- He left a while ago.
- The problems started a while back.
Word OriginOld English hwīl ‘period of time’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wijl, German Weile; the conjunction is an abbreviation of Old English thā hwīle the ‘the while that’.
Idioms
(every) once in a while
- occasionally
- Everybody makes a mistake once in a while.
worth somebody’s while
- interesting or useful for somebody to do
- It will be worth your while to come to the meeting.
- He'll do the job if you make it worth his while (= pay him well).