While vs Between - What's the difference?
while | between |
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.
In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See the Usage notes below.)
:
:
*
*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between ; his clerks, however, understood him very well.
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= Done together or reciprocally.
:
*{{quote-book, year=1935, author=
, title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=1
, passage=She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.}}
Shared in confidence.
:
In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).
:
Combined (by effort or ownership).
:
:
One of (representing a choice).
:
:
A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.
As nouns the difference between while and between
is that while is an uncertain duration of time, a period of time while between is a kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.As a conjunction while
is during the same time that.As a verb while
is to pass (time) idly.As a preposition between is
in the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree (see the usage notes below).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)
Derived terms
* while away * meanwhile * the whilebetween
English
Alternative forms
* betweene (archaic) * betwene (archaic) * (abbreviation)Preposition
(English prepositions)Geothermal Energy, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}
George Goodchild
