Back Time Waɪl Chatted I Walked Talking Noun

• they chatted for a while.
• i'll be back in a little while (= a short time).
• i haven't seen him for quite a while (= a fairly long time).
• they walked back together, talking all the while (= all the time).

while

1. a period of time
• They chatted for a while.
• I'll be back in a little while (= a short time).
• I haven't seen him for quite a while (= a fairly long time).
• They walked back together, talking all the while (= all the time).
2. occasionally
3. interesting or useful for somebody to do
• It will be worth your while to come to the meeting.
• He'll do the job if you make it worth his while (= pay him well).

Extra Examples

• Everybody makes a mistake once in a while.
• He kept me waiting for quite a while.
• I’ll be back in a while.
• I’ll mend it for you, but it could take a while.
• The bird hopped across the lawn, keeping a sharp lookout all the while.
• The problems started a while back.
• There’s no need to do anything for the while.
• They chatted for a while.
• Things continued quiet for some while.
• I haven’t seen him for quite a while.
• They walked back together, talking all the while.

Word Origin

• Old English hwīl ‘period of time’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wijl, German Weile; the conjunction is an abbreviation of Old English thā hwīle the ‘the while that’.