meanwhile.
The time between two events.
Meaning & usage
The time between two events.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English menewhile, equivalent to mean (“intermediate”) + while. Adverb is by ellipsis from in the mean while, noun being conventionally written as one word after the adjective.
During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place.
There was a party going on downstairs. Meanwhile, I was reading a book.
During an intervening time; from now until a future time.
We’re going on holiday next month; meanwhile, keep working on the project.
In contrast to aspects previously mentioned.
Some songs on the album are beautiful. Meanwhile, others are quite forgettable.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English menewhile, equivalent to mean (“intermediate”) + while. Adverb is by ellipsis from in the mean while, noun being conventionally written as one word after the adjective.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.