whiles

W4H4I1L1E1S1
/(h)waɪlz/

adverb

sometimes; at times

UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

whiles1

adverbwhiles (not comparable)
  1. Scotlandarchaicnot comparablesometimes; at times

    Man, I've diverted myself whiles with the science of the stars, and can make a shape at calculating a nativity.

    1927, John Buchan, Witch Wood, published 1988, page 14
  2. Scotlandarchaicnot comparablemeanwhile

    the good knight whiles humming to himself the lay of some majored troubadour

    1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC
conjunction
  1. archaicdialectalwhile, whilst

    Portia: […]Whiles we shut the gate upon one wooer, another knocks at the door.

    c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]
    1 more example

    for it so falls out, That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it; but being lack'd and lost, Why, then we rack the value, then we find The virtue that possession would not show us Whiles it was ours.

    1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

whiles2

noun
  1. pluralplural of while
verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of while

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
whilst

Origin

whiles · adverb, conjunction

From while (noun) + -s (adverbial suffix); compare whilst.

Full word history & related roots →

whiles · noun, verb

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with whiles

milessmilesGilespileswilesgylesWest Isles
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

wiles (wine–whine merger)wiles (wine–whine merger)wiles (wine–whine merger)wiles (wine–whine merger)
Cite this entry
APA

whiles. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whiles

MLA

“whiles.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whiles. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whiles,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whiles.

Source: whiles on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.