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

See Examples For:

worth one's while

You need have no fear of another accident; your screeching has made that fellow, and probably his comrades, too inquisitive to make it worth one's while to venture that.

From A Hero of Romance by Richard Marsh

Convince me that it is worth one's while to live.

From The Dreamer A Romantic Rendering of the Life-Story of Edgar Allan Poe by Mary Newton Stanard

There ought not to be any difficulty in floating that mine on the London market, except that it is hardly worth one's while to take it up.

From A Woman Intervenes by Robert Barr

“He believes that it is worth one’s while to pray, at any rate,” said Christie to herself; and all at once it flashed upon her that a part of her prayer had been answered.

From Christie Redfern's Troubles by Edward Barnard Lintott

Do you long for "a job that is worth one's while?"

From More Toasts by Marion Dix Mosher