How to use while in a sentence
40 example sentences · noun, conjunction, preposition
While means an uncertain duration of time, a period of time. Example: “He lectured for quite a long while.”
Examples of while by meaning
nounAn uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
- He lectured for quite a long while.
- It’s a long while since anyone lived there, so it’s a ruin now.
- Things were pretty dark for a while — several whiles, actually.2017, Anne Thériault, “The Monster Book of Questions and Answers”, in Kelly Jensen, editor, Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World...
conjunctionDuring the same time that.
- He was sleeping while I was singing.
- Driving while intoxicated is against the law.
- I lived in Ávila for two lustra while I was a child.
conjunctionAlthough.
- This case, while interesting, is a bit frustrating.
- While I would love to help, I am very busy at the moment.
- While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 Sep 2013
conjunctionUntil.
- I'll wait while you've finished painting.
conjunctionAs long as.
- While you're at school you may live at home.
- While there's quiet I can sleep.
verbTo pass (time) idly.
- I whiled away the hours whilst waiting for him to arrive
- As if she was just whiling her time with them until his arrival.2018, Shukla Lal, Floating Logs
verbTo occupy or entertain (someone) in order to let time pass.
- In other worlds I whiled me now Through many a dark night long.2010, Dr Rudolf Steiner, Truth-Wrought-Words
- Like a good father, he whiled him with stories about the past of his nation and discussed in detail the intricacies of his profession, teaching the child secrets of the craft that had been passed from generation to generation.2018, Michael Joyce, Yada
More sentences with while
- The word "happy" has a positive connotation, while "sad" has a negative connotation.From the entry connotation
- This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.From the entry about
- I was trying to drink out of the bottle while the top was still on!From the entry on
- All the threes will go in Mrs. Smith's class, while I'll take the fours and fives.From the entry three
- While being impulsive can be great for artists, it is not a desirable quality for engineers.From the entry quality
- I'm currently living with my parents while I find a new job.From the entry currently
- Now! Fire all we've got while the enemy is in reach!From the entry now
- While reading her book, Sally leaned back against her husband, wishing it were the human kind.From the entry husband
- Mormonism is a new religion, while Zoroastrianism is an old one.From the entry religion
- “Three” is a cardinal number, while “third” is an ordinal number.From the entry cardinal number
- While everyone else offered thoughts and prayers, she made a concrete proposal to help.From the entry concrete
- Hey, did you mean to leave the airs on all week while you were on vacation?From the entry air
- While biking home, he got in an argument with the pavement.From the entry argument
- My sister-in-law and my brother met while they were both on vacation in Jamaica.From the entry sister-in-law
- After her mother's death, my friend grew remote for a time while she dealt with her grief.From the entry remote
- While hiking in the woods, I found an antler from a deer.From the entry antler
- You can start the vegetables cooking while you are lemoning the fish.From the entry lemon
- A sidewalk preacher gave an impassioned sermon while an assistant leafleted those who stayed to listen.From the entry leaflet
- I haven't heard from you in a while; how have you been?From the entry hear
- "Woof" is the cry of a dog, while "neigh" is the cry of a horse.From the entry cry
- In the western world, women usually have long hair while men usually have short hair.From the entry hair
- I met my old friend in the street, so we chatted for a while.From the entry chat
- A car racing in a circle may retain the same speed while continually changing its velocity.From the entry velocity
- You need to write down what happened while it's still fresh in your mind.From the entry down
Meaning of while
- noun An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
- noun An uncertain long period of time.
- noun An uncertain short moment.
Questions about while in a sentence
- How do you use while in a sentence?
- While is used as a noun, conjunction and preposition. For example: “He lectured for quite a long while.”
- What is a short sentence with while?
- “I'll wait while you've finished painting.”
- What does while mean?
- While means an uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: while (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use while in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/while. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.