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.
Still chasing and knowing all the while that one slip of their own against Jens Berthel Askou's impressive and dangerous side and it could be curtains.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
He studied classical piano for the next few years, his ears being drawn to pop music all the while.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
It’s an assembly of archetypes going through the motions, snow falling and lights twinkling all the while.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Larry is to spend the next week considering afterlife options, all the while worrying that he’ll be gone before Joan gets to the Junction, given that there’s no certainty with her illness.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025
Axel races across the room, flings open the basement door, all the while his stomach fills with woodpeckers all trying to hammer out of him.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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.
