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. See meanwhile
   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, Gonzalez also said she was working on a financial analysis of what the bill would cost to implement but didn’t plan to pull the bill into the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which she chairs.

From Voice of San Diego

In the meantime, ViacomCBS has devised a way to track how often a given viewer is shown an ad across its two ad servers.

From Digiday

In the meantime, he is focusing on streaming and social media platforms like Twitch.

From Ozy

So, we said, “Look, for the meantime — and maybe for a while — the way to serve them will be fantasy sports.”

From Freakonomics

In the meantime, companies have to come up with other ways to track people around the web.

From Digiday

In the meantime, he should just accept that the holdup has nothing to do with his politics.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, Epstein has tried to use his charitable projects to float him back to the top.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, Democrats in the Senate need to find ways to take the right stands.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, Grimm faces no legal pressure to leave office.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, most of the detailed studies are incomplete in one way or another.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, the outlaw, having observed how much more cordially the tyrant is received than himself, has made his exit.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course they would stop for the wedding; but meantime she must be very discreet; she must not intrude too much.

From Project Gutenberg

Meantime was it possible that by fondling she wanted to get anything out of Black Sheep?

From Project Gutenberg

When the engine gets on two lifts, I will write to you again, and in the meantime please to give me your thoughts on the engine.

From Project Gutenberg

In the meantime her father went over to the west side, presumably to call on Mrs. Pruitt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• interim

More About Meantime

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.

Where does meantime come from?

The first records of meantime come from the 1300s. The mean in meantime is the sense of the word that means “occupying a middle position or an intermediate place.”

Meantime is often used in discussions that involve things happening or being done while waiting for something else to happen. It’s also commonly used in descriptions of events happening at the same time.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for meantime?

• meanwhile
• concurrently
• simultaneously
• at the same time

What are some words that share a root or word element with meantime? 

 

• in the meantime
• mean
• time

What are some words that often get used in discussing meantime?

• in
• for
• do
• go
• back

How is meantime used in real life?

Meantime is a very common word that can be used in all kinds of contexts. It’s especially used in the phrase in the meantime. 

TypeScript 4.2 is so close! In the meantime, we've just published our Release Candidate!

Try the RC today and let us know how better type display, faster inference, and other new features work for you! https://t.co/gqNpw7H2q0

— TypeScript (@typescript) February 11, 2021

I can’t wait to see a bit of countryside, but in the meantime I’m grateful for Leicester’s marvellous parks and the beautiful blue sky this morning. #leicester pic.twitter.com/7OlghI4JMP

— Lucy Phillips 💙 (@lucy_r_p) February 11, 2021

In this morning's public hearings of the Victorian Electoral Matters Committee Inquiry we've heard from fact-checking organisations @ABCFactCheck and @AapFactcheck. See hearing transcripts in 3 – 4 weeks at https://t.co/wqxLXTLcqv Meantime, they're both worth following. #SpringSt

— Tim Read (@TimRRead) February 15, 2021

 

 

Try using meantime!

Is meantime used correctly in the following sentence? 

My younger sister just got engaged—meantime, I can’t even get a date!