Awhile Meaning
/əˈwaɪl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advFor some time; for a short time.
advIn the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.
Sentence Examples
I'll bet Madonna doesn't return to her career for awhile.
He made a motion that we stop and rest awhile.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please wait ____ while I finish this important phone call.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We sat by the river for ____, enjoying the peace and the quiet.
Word Origin & History
From Old English āne (“(for) a”) hwīle (“while”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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 83:
"Engine 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 137:
"I'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 Surfacing:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please wait ____ while I finish this important phone call.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We sat by the river for ____, enjoying the peace and the quiet.