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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Floating along the lazy Russian River in an inner tube accessorized with an inflatable pink flamingo cooler is a perfect way to while away the summer.
  — Catherine Bigelow, SFChronicle.com, 10 July 2018
• Other safety tips while away include buying a timer for lights and setting them to turn off and on at random, or asking neighbors or friends to occasionally park in the driveway.
  — Alex Riggins, sandiegouniontribune.com, 5 July 2018
• Members also can stream the concert on demand for a limited time afterward, perhaps to while away the hours until Amazon’s Prime Day sale, which starts at midnight July 15 and runs for 48 hours.
  — Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, 27 June 2019
• Tobin Heath, her legs heavy with exhaustion, held the ball in the corner, holding off two French defenders, hungrily snapping at her heels, trying to while away a few precious seconds.
  — New York Times, 28 June 2019
• Plenty of relaxed shoreline trails draw hikers and cyclists here, while picturesque picnic areas and pebbly beaches make great places to while away an afternoon.
  — Daniel Otis, Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018
• To hole up at Claridge’s posh bar or bed down in one of its suites is an experience in itself, but to while away an afternoon over tea in the Art Deco Foyer is a particularly special one.
  — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Dec. 2017
• The twin political hallmarks of the Republican Party in Wisconsin since 2010 have been party unity and the ability to do just about whatever the party wants to while in power.
  — Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 July 2017

Last Updated: 8 Jan 2025