worth one's while

Idioms  

1. Merit one's time or efforts, as in It's hardly worth your while to count the transactions; it can be done by computer . [Late 1600s]

2. make something worth one's while . Compensate one for one's time or efforts, as in If you take care of our yard while we're away, I'll make it worth your while . [Mid-1800s] Both usages employ while in the sense of “a period of time spent.”

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Example Sentences

"It would be worth one's while to run a considerable risk."

From Between the Dark and the Daylight by Marsh, Richard

It was well worth one's while, even if he had no idea of buying or selling, to loiter through the bazaars and observe the various sorts of traffic that were going forward.

From Mosses from an Old Manse and other stories by Hawthorne, Nathaniel

It is well worth one’s while to read the presentations of the subject from the different points of view.

From Historical Essays by Rhodes, James Ford

What Cambridge saw not strikes us yet   As scarcely worth one's while to see.

From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by Lowell, James Russell

"Not much," said the cat; "only the birds are growing very plentiful—it is not worth one's while to catch them."

From Granny's Wonderful Chair by Dixon, Arthur A.