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

Helene Svinos, from Manchester, got in touch with BBC Your Voice earlier this month about her experience when her dog Rowan had an emergency admission while away in Suffolk last summer.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026

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

He added, “This is a little while away from becoming commonplace.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 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

That would be an agreeable way to while away the time until our mother took us home.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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

while away

verb

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