Meanings
- not comparableFor some time; for a short time.
Sit with me awhile.
4 more examples
Take two cupfuls of rolled oats, put in bread pan, turn on four cupfuls of boiling water, stir for awhile.
1911, Rufus Estes, Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus, page 83Engine No. 18 went off into a shed to rest awhile, and No. 7, a precisely similar one, backed on to the train in her place.
1944 May and June, “When the Circle was Steam Operated”, in Railway Magazine, page 137The Negroes, having waited for the white people to go upstairs, began to come in. “Whoa now, just a minute,” said a club member, holding up his walking stick. “Just don’t start up them there stairs yet awhile.”
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLCI'll slip beneath these sheets and shiver here awhile / I find this happening more frequently these days
1979, The Boomtown Rats, “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of SurfacingSynonyms: for a minute
- USnot comparablesouth-central PennsylvaniaIn the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.
Can I get you a drink awhile?
Synonyms: for the moment, meanwhile, meanwhilst, the while
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbFor some time; for a short time.
adverbIn the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbfor a brief period
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishāne“(for) a”
- Englishawhile
From Old English āne (“(for) a”) hwīle (“while”).
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali কিছুক্ষন
- কিছুক্ষন (kichukkhon)For some time; for a short time
Bulgarian за изве́стно вре́ме
- за изве́стно вре́ме (za izvéstno vréme)For some time; for a short time
Chinese Mandarin 一會兒 /一会儿
- 一會兒 /一会儿 (yīhuìr)For some time; for a short time
Esperanto dum iom da tempo
- dum iom da tempoFor some time; for a short time
Finnish hetken, hetkisen
- hetkenFor some time; for a short time
- hetkisenFor some time; for a short time
- hetken aikaaFor some time; for a short time
- vähän aikaaFor some time; for a short time
French un moment, un peu
- un momentFor some time; for a short time
- un peuFor some time; for a short time
- un instantFor some time; for a short time
German eine Weile
- eine WeileFor some time; for a short time
Hindi तब तक
- तब तक (tab tak)In the meantime; meanwhile
Indonesian sebentar
- sebentarFor some time; for a short time
Irish go fóill, ar feadh píosa
- go fóillFor some time; for a short time
- ar feadh píosaFor some time; for a short time
- ar feadh tamaillFor some time; for a short time
Italian per un po'
- per un po'For some time; for a short time
Japanese 暫く, 既にして
- 暫く (shibaraku)For some time; for a short time
- 既にして (sude ni shite)In the meantime; meanwhile
Korean 잠깐
- 잠깐 (jamkkan)For some time; for a short time
Polish na chwilę, na moment
- na chwilęFor some time; for a short time
- na momentFor some time; for a short time
- w międzyczasieIn the meantime; meanwhile
Portuguese por um tempo
- por um tempoFor some time; for a short time
Russian ненадо́лго, на не́которое вре́мя
- ненадо́лго (nenadólgo)For some time; for a short time
- на не́которое вре́мя (na nékotoroje vrémja)For some time; for a short time
Spanish un rato, algún tiempo
- un ratoFor some time; for a short time
- algún tiempoFor some time; for a short time
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with awhile
Cite this entry
awhile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awhile
“awhile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awhile. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “awhile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awhile.
Source: awhile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.