while
To pass idlyTo pass (time) idly.
» Let me think for a while.
Lass mich ein bisschen nachdenken.
Дайте мне немного подумать.
Дай мне немного подумать.
Позволь мне немного подумать.
Дай-но трохи подумаю.
Meaning
3 senses(in compounds, transitive)To pass (time) idly.
I whiled away the hours whilst waiting for him to arrive
vertrödeln
(transitive)To occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
unterhalten, beschäftigen, (gemeinsam) die Zeit verbringen
(archaic, intransitive)To elapse, to pass.
Examples
5938 sentencesLet me think for a while.
Дай-но трохи подумаю.
ruДайте мне немного подумать.
deLass mich ein bisschen nachdenken.
He remained silent for a while.
Якийсь час він мовчав.
deEr blieb eine Zeitlang still.
It happened while I wasn't looking.
Це сталося, поки я не дивився.
ruЭто случилось, пока я не смотрел.
Please wait a little while longer.
Будь ласка, почекай ще трохи.
ruПодождите еще немного, пожалуйста.
deWarten Sie bitte noch etwas.
I fell asleep while watching TV.
Я заснув перед телевізором.
ruЯ заснул, смотря телевизор.
deIch bin beim Fernsehen eingeschlafen.
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from PrFrom Middle English whyle, from Old English hwīl, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīlu, from Proto-Germanic *hwīlō (compare Dutch wijl, Low German Wiel, German Weile, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvile (“rest”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvila (“rest”), Swedish vila (“rest”), Faroese and Icelandic hvíla (“rest”)) from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest”). Cognate with Albanian sillë (“breakfast”), Latin tranquillus, Sanskrit चिर (cirá), Persian شاد (šâd).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
whiles, whiling, whiled, whiledSynonyms
3 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- B1Since and for with the present perfect — Because the lesson uses it
- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
Collocations
12 patterns- for a while
- in a while
- do that while
- fell asleep while
- quite a while
- a while since
- dog while
- a little while
- a while ago
- a while longer
- my dog while
- take a while