all the while
Americanidiom
Etymology
Origin of all the while
First recorded in 1350–1400
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They asked her numerous questions, including about her bank accounts and transaction history, all the while reminding her how grave the case was and how much trouble she could be in.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
To spur them on, Mary Kay offered only praise, never criticism, all the while dangling gifts and the opportunity for reinvention.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Across two hours, Buckley’s Bride shoots, kicks, contorts, dances, scrapes, whizzes, licks and screams, all the while coming no closer to her true self than she was at the start of the film.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
When my daughter came into the kitchen and heard me listening to this epic — stop-start, stop-start, taking notes all the while — she asked me, “Are you listening to a podcast?”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Witchlings embraced and joined their new covens happily, and all the while, Seven waited, eyeing Poppy anxiously.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
