During Meaning
/ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
prepFor all of a given time interval; throughout; in; pending.
prepAt any time or period within a given time interval.
Sentence Examples
I slept a little during lunch break because I was so tired.
During summer breaks, I ate dinner at midnight.
I discovered something interesting during a family discussion.
CEFR Practice Quiz
____ the long winter, we stayed indoors and read books.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I slept a little ____ lunch break because I was so tired.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English during, durynge, durinde, durand, durende, present participle of duren (“to last”), equivalent to dure + -ing. Compare Dutch gedurende (“during”). More at dure.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…]"
— 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond:
"They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups."
— 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 9:
"Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction."
— 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
"I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite."
— 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
"These infamous little green men appeared during the decisive seizures or buildings and facilities, only to disappear when associated militias and local troops arrived to consolidate the gains. In this way they provided a measure of deniability—however superficial or implausible—for Moscow.⁴⁰"
— 2014, “Little Green Men”: A Primer on Modern Russian Unconventional Warfare, Ukraine 2013–2014, Fort Bragg, North Carolina: The United States Army Special Operations Command, page 43:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
____ the long winter, we stayed indoors and read books.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I slept a little ____ lunch break because I was so tired.