Meantime vs While - What's the difference?
meantime | while |
The time spent waiting for another event; time in between.
during the interval; meanwhile
* 1919 , :
* 1934 , edition, ISBN 0553278193, page 97:
An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
During the same time that.
* , chapter=12
, title= * 1948 , , North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States , J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
, volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Although.
* 2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), "
(Northern England, Scotland) Until.
* Beaumont and Fletcher
As long as.
* I. Watts
To pass (time) idly.
* Longfellow
To loiter.
As nouns the difference between meantime and while
is that meantime is the time spent waiting for another event; time in between while while is an uncertain duration of time, a period of time.As an adverb meantime
is during the interval; meanwhile.As a conjunction while is
during the same time that.As a verb while is
to pass (time) idly.meantime
English
Alternative forms
* mean timeNoun
(-)- I'll get started tomorrow but, in the meantime , let's see if we can get a few more opinions.
Synonyms
* (l)Derived terms
* for the mean time, for the meantime * in mean time, in meantime * in the mean time, in the meantime * this mean time, this meantimeAdverb
(en adverb)- Meantime Pope Urban II convoked two councils, one after another.
- Lunch will be in twenty minutes. Meantime : I have
Usage notes
Usually appears sentence-initially.while
English
Noun
(en noun)- He lectured for quite a long while .
Conjunction
(wikipedia while) (English Conjunctions)Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.}}
- 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.
Fantasy of navigation, passage=Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.}}
London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
- While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.
- I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
- Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.
Verb
(whil)- The lovely lady whiled the hours away.
- (Spectator)