while away

British

verb

(tr, adverb) to pass (time) idly and usually pleasantly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

while away Idioms

Spend time idly or pleasantly, as in It was a beautiful day and we whiled away the hours in the garden. This expression is the only surviving use of the verb while, meaning “to spend time.” [First half of 1600s]

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while away

Any such changes in U.S. accounting rules would be a while away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025

As luck has it, there is a gelato joint next door and so we continue his lead, sit on the terrace, people-watch and while away and enjoy lemon sorbet.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

The men, who have known each other since their earliest days in Los Angeles politics, now form a political odd couple while away from their families in California.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

And Robinson says he has been seeing a psychologist while away from action.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024

On some vacant land nearby, he could while away long summer days by digging elaborate underground tunnels—cool, dark, subterranean retreats from Spokane’s sometimes searing dry heat.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

while away

verb

Example Sentences

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