while

while
while , US hwaIl
A conj
1 (although) bien que (+ subj), quoique (+ subj) ; while the house is big, it is not in a very good state bien que or quoique la maison soit grande, elle n'est pas en très bon état ; the peaches, while being ripe, had little taste les pêches, quoique mûres, avaient peu de goût ;
2 (as long as) tant que ; while there's life there's hope tant qu'il y a de la vie, il y a de l'espoir ;
3 (during the time that) (with different subjects) pendant que ; (with the same subject) alors que ; sit there while I speak to Brigitte asseyez-vous là pendant que je parle à Brigitte ; he made a sandwich while I phoned il a fait un sandwich pendant que je téléphonais ; he met her while on holiday il l' a rencontrée pendant qu'il était en vacances ; while in Spain I visited Madrid pendant que j'étais en Espagne j'ai visité Madrid ; he collapsed while mowing the lawn il a eu un malaise alors qu'il tondait le gazon ;
4 (at the same time as) en ; I fell asleep while watching TV je me suis endormi en regardant la télé ; this eliminates draughts while allowing air to circulate cela élimine les courants d'air tout en permettant à l'air de circuler ; close the door while you're about ou at it ferme la porte pendant que tu y es ; ‘MOT while you wait’ ‘contrôle technique express’ ; ‘heels repaired while you wait’ ‘talons minute’ ;
5 (whereas) tandis que.
B n a while ago ou back ○ il y a quelque temps ; a while later quelque temps plus tard ; a good ou long while ago il y a longtemps ; for a good while pendant longtemps ; a good while later longtemps après, beaucoup plus tard ; a short ou little while ago il y a peu de temps ; a short while later, after a short while peu de temps après ; it will be ou take a while cela va prendre un certain temps ; it takes a while to cook cela prend un certain temps à cuire ; it may take a while ça risque de prendre un certain temps ; to wait a while longer attendre encore un peu ; to stop/rest for a while s'arrêter/se reposer un peu or un moment ; after a while he fell asleep au bout d'un moment il s'est endormi ; after a while I started to trust him au bout d'un moment or au bout d'un certain temps j'ai commencé à lui faire confiance ; he worked, humming all the while ou the whole while il travaillait tout en chantonnant ; and all the while ou the whole while, he was cheating on her et depuis le début , il la trompait ; once in a while de temps en temps ; in between whiles entre-temps. ⇒ worth.
Phrasal verb
■ while away :
▶ while away [sth] tuer [hours, minutes] (doing, by doing en faisant) ; to while away the time by playing cards tuer le temps en jouant aux cartes.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.

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  • while — while, whilst 1. Both forms are used in BrE, but whilst is not much used in AmE. There is no distinction in usage as regards meaning, although varying grammatical patterns are noted below. 2. The word is a conjunction, and its primary sense is… …   Modern English usage

  • While — While, n. [AS. hw[=i]l; akin to OS. hw[=i]l, hw[=i]la, OFries. hw[=i]le, D. wigl, G. weile, OHG. w[=i]la, hw[=i]la, hw[=i]l, Icel. hv[=i]la a bed, hv[=i]ld rest, Sw. hvila, Dan. hvile, Goth. hweila a time, and probably to L. quietus quiet, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • While — and whilst are conjunctions whose primary meaning is during the time that . An example is::The days were hot while we were on vacation.:I read a magazine whilst I was waiting. While and whilst can nowadays legitimately be used in the contrastive… …   Wikipedia

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