meantime

[meen-tahym]

noun

1. the intervening time: times.

   The party is Tuesday, but in the meantime I have to shop and prepare the food.

adverb

1. meanwhile.

meantime

/ ˈmiːnˌtaɪm /

noun

1. the intervening time or period, as between events (esp in the phrase in the meantime )

adverb

1. another word for meanwhile

Word History and Origins

Origin of meantime¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; mean ³, time

Example Sentences

In the meantime, as the cold weather sets in, various tips are available to keep people warm while controlling costs, including clothing, insulation and heating rooms people are in rather than the whole home.

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In the meantime, he’s got a winner to put together, just up the road.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the meantime, LIV has continued—though it still hasn’t caught on commercially.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In the meantime, Weidner’s is gearing up for its big season, moving thousands of poinsettias out of its greenhouses into its sales areas or onto delivery trucks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the meantime, young workers like Jose, the Salinas Valley strawberry picker, will continue to labor in the fields.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• interim 

When To Use

What does meantime mean?

Meantime means the period of time between two events—between the current time and the time when something else happens.This sense of the word is especially used in the phrase in the meantime, as in The power will come back on soon, so let’s just enjoy the quiet in the meantime. The word meanwhile can also be used as a noun to mean the same thing as meantime, but this is much less common.Meanwhile is much more commonly used as an adverb meaning in or during the time between the current time and the time when something else happens, as in Our guests will arrive in about an hour—meanwhile, let’s get the food ready. Meanwhile can also mean at the same time, as in When I got to my apartment, I realized I had forgotten my key—meanwhile, everyone was already hiding inside for my surprise party. Meantime can also be used as an adverb in both of these ways, but it is much more commonly used as a noun.Example: Our guests won’t arrive for another several hours, so I’m going to take a nap in the meantime.