How to Use while in a Sentence

while

1 of 2 noun

• It took them a while to find out what was causing the problem.
• But the surgery worked, and for a while, Jones was in the clear.
  — Devi Shastri, Journal Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2022
• But in this case, the signs have been clear for a while.
  — James E. Causey, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2023
• This cold front will take a while to move out of the area.
  — OregonLive.com, 23 Jan. 2018
• The bad news: These changes might be here to stay for a while.
  — Cincinnati Enquirer, 21 Mar. 2020
• All the while, trucks and cars pass by on the busy highway.
  — Jan Hefler, Philly.com, 6 Apr. 2018
• That would be the last piece of bad news for Trump for a while in 2016.
  — WSJ, 15 Jan. 2024
• The case is likely to remain in the courts for a while.
  — Lois K. Solomon, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Aug. 2020
• The fate of Grey’s Anatomy has been in flux for a while.
  — Leah Marilla Thomas, Glamour, 30 Dec. 2023
• For a while there, the clueless hordes had their spokesman.
  — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, 26 June 2020
• The [tourney] matchups have not been great for a while.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 7 Nov. 2019
• But, yeah, all of these ideas have been around for a while.
  — Quartz Staff, Quartz, 3 Nov. 2022
• The tree has looked a bit worse-for-wear for a while but is still alive.
  — Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 13 Oct. 2022
• Some songs come fast, but for me, most of them take a while.
  — Scott McDonald, Pacific San Diego Magazine, 7 June 2017
• Hey, here’s something that could fill the stage for a while.
  — Chronicle Staff Report, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 May 2018
• Sometimes the toddler would pound on the door for a while.
  — Denise Davidson Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2021
• But Wednesday’s rate hike could be the last for a while.
  — Justin Lahart, wsj.com, 3 May 2023
• For a short while, the office was big enough for them both.
  — Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2019
• The new record could end up standing for a while, though.
  — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 2 Jan. 2024
• Wrap the fabric around your head, and walk around like this for a while.
  — Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 19 Sep. 2022
• Throw a dude a bone every once in a while, for crissakes.
  — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 10 Nov. 2022
• But it's been a while since our last freeze, so feel free to prune now.
  — Dan Gill, NOLA.com, 22 Dec. 2020
• For a while, those were the only two swings that looked good at all. ...
  — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 25 Aug. 2021
• The corpses might still be rotting, but for the first time in a while, this saga feels fresh.
  — James Grebey, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2023
• Adam said the rodent was scared now and won't show his face for a while.
  — Byron McCauley, Cincinnati.com, 24 Apr. 2020
• It’s been kind of knocking around for a while as an idea.
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2023
• For a while, the 2023 Bengals haven’t had the ability to do any of that.
  — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 31 Dec. 2023
• Of course, devices like these have been around for a while.
  — Medea Giordano, Wired, 10 Jan. 2021
• My research trip to Butte was in 1999, so this one has been on the blocks for a while.
  — Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
• Apple didn’t like that; the two sides played a cat-and-mouse game for a while, and eventually, Beeper just gave up.
  — David Pierce, The Verge, 9 Apr. 2024

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while

2 of 2 verb

• Here’s just a sampling of ways to while away the time, now and when the weather warms this spring.
  — Angela Hill, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2017
• Bermondsey is simply buzzing with trendy bars to while away the hours in.
  — Tom Marchant, Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Dec. 2017
• Veterans can while away days on the golf course next door.
  — Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2018
• These were not the places in which the Detroit Tigers expected to while away their April hours.
  — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2020
• Once settled, you will be tempted to while away the time on your dock, soaking in the scene.
  — Orange County Register, 25 Jan. 2017
• What are the farmers up to while the rest of us ski, drink cocoa, read books and complain about the weather?
  — Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2020
• Next, move to dense cover where rabbits retreat to while away the midday hours.
  — T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 3 Feb. 2020
• It’s one of the most beautiful places in Napa to while away an afternoon.
  — Kim Westerman, Forbes, 1 Sep. 2021
• Few who are well versed in tarot would mistake a serious deck as a fun way to while away the afternoon.
  — Jane Stern, Town & Country, 24 Sep. 2018
• The adjoining no-frills, outdoor Shipwreck Bar is a place to while the rest of the afternoon away.
  — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 3 July 2019
• Its raison d'etre was bon vivance; good food and good times, a place to while away lazy summer days, eat heartily and drink well.
  — Lianne Turner and Thomas Page, CNN, 14 June 2017
• In March, Sánchez was furloughed from Made Nice and began to while away quarantine by drafting a dream menu.
  — Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2020
• Ignoring his mom’s wishes, Ash elects to while away a day in Denska, a young ghost town.
  — Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2019
• Besides the many outdoor venues in which to while away the day, design shops also serve as popular social hubs.
  — Beth Lapides, ELLE Decor, 29 Nov. 2011
• While well off a nadir reached in December, the increase in North Korean tensions over the past two months has weighed on the currency.
  — Bloomberg.com, 10 May 2017
• In one viral photo, one person stands at the gas pump filling a red gas can while another tends to more cans in the back of a white vehicle.
  — Rick Rouan, USA TODAY, 12 May 2021
• Many leisure travelers use laptops and tablets to while away the hours watching movies or playing games, or to keep their kids entertained.
  — Joyce M. Rosenberg, The Seattle Times, 17 May 2017
• But the Cube was fundamentally a cerebral, calm pursuit, perfect for the latchkey children of the 1980s to while away their lonely, Xbox-free hours.
  — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 28 June 2017
• The amateur who merely wants to while away long hours can easily feel inadequate to the task.
  — The Economist, 22 Apr. 2020
• The couple, who became engaged last month, were seen getting emotional during a bike ride and while out at a restaurant.
  — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Aug. 2018
• Another name Schmitz mentioned was Maryland's Kevin Huerter, who while known as a shooter, can play some point guard.
  — Andrew Hussey, Indianapolis Star, 18 June 2018
• Here’s a look at 10 places to while away the afternoon for less than $10 (adult admission, other discounts often available).
  — Martina Schimitschek, sandiegouniontribune.com, 26 May 2017
• The restaurant, Trade Route, offers its own take on traditional southern cuisine, and the spa provides a refreshing way to while away an hour or two.
  — Patti Nickell, chicagotribune.com, 24 Sep. 2019
• What’s overlooked is Netflix’s extreme competence at making it easy to buy and while away a lazy afternoon.
  — Shira Ovide, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2020
• Some have taken to baking to while away the hours during lockdown; others embraced gardening.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 28 May 2020
• In a separate instance, Rourke sought payment for 16 hours of sick leave that he also was not entitled to while on leave, officials said.
  — Peter Krouse, cleveland.com, 26 Apr. 2018
• At age 59, most rock stars would be happy to while away the time between tours luxuriating on a tropical island as the royalty checks roll in.
  — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 23 Dec. 2017
• And resist the temptation to while away the time between flashes by looking at your phone—the bright screen will compromise your night vision for another 20 minutes.
  — Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 2 Jan. 2020
• While two additional units are being planned for Shin Kori, their future is in doubt following the election.
  — Stephen Stapczynski, Bloomberg.com, 15 May 2017
• The city exists within a single building; there are single rooms with no locks, each with a bed, a dresser, and — if the resident’s family provides one — a television set with which to while away the hours.
  — Leslie Kendall Dye, Longreads, 23 June 2018

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024