all the while
45
2.9
- idiom
:
todo el tiempo
- He was preparing for his presentation, all the while dealing with unexpected technical issues.
- all the while remain
- all the while keep
And all the while there's this octopus judging you.
- And all the while there's this octopus judging you.
- Yeah, but our health span is deteriorating all the while.
- And I think that's something that I've, I've had that attitude all the while.
- And all the while I was battling the same head stuff that we all do.
- Some of his friends who heard him read from his works have written that he giggled all the while.
- In fact, I didn't read any reviews because once again, I was too busy throwing darts at the dartboard all the while facing my fears.
- It has its essential difference in its own self, but all the while not as if this difference were in opposition in the thing itself.
- Then they moved as one, as if conjoined, sobbing all the while along the evil shore that awaits any and all who failed to fear God.
- And all the while, in their off hours, they're going to open houses, they're doing tours, shadowing and experienced agent.
- The train is moving through a tunnel, all the while the darkness allows you to look at him.
- And, and all the while ignoring the largest pieces of this pie.
- And then all the while, you know, personal life, you know, stripped down to the bear.
Examples
-
And all the while, the humanitarian crisis in Somalia continues to deepen.
Academic text (2011) -
I was studying for my exams, and all the while, my friends were enjoying their summer vacation.
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And all the while, not really getting much money and not really getting a a good cut from from the sales.
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And I think of you all the while.
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And all the while I was battling the same head stuff that we all do.
-
We think there is something wrong and inadequate with us, and all the while all there is going on is nature doing what it does.
-
All the while, they must sit still in uncomfortable chairs and behave for extended periods.
Academic text (2007) -
My colleagues drank coffee, smoked, danced, and sang, talking business all the while.
Fiction book (1991) -
All the while, I'm worried about the mess my new McQueen contrasting pants are going to be in when all of this is over.
-
All the while, Orville's implicit message lurks beneath the action of the text.
Academic text (2018)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Happens without stopping
403
1.5
During the whole time from the start
3
1.2
During the whole time of an event from start to finish
Antonyms
How Continuous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'throughout the entire period' is directly and compositionally derived from 'all' (the whole) + 'the' (definite article) + 'while' (a span of time); a learner who knows those words can infer the sense without prior exposure. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g. 'todo el tiempo', 'tout le temps') and follows standard English determiner + time-noun patterns, so it is immediately comprehensible at B1 level.
Etymology
The phrase all the while comes from while meaning 'a time'. Putting all with while gives the idea of the whole time, so it means 'during the whole time'.