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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

meantime en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈmiːntaɪm/
  • mēnʹtīm

Etymology

From Middle English menetime, equivalent to mean + time. Adverb is by ellipsis from in the meantime.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) During the interval; meanwhile.
    • Meantime, the train went on to Brighton without further incident. No small stir was caused by its arrival with No. 61 at its head, resplendent with "East London Line Special" head boards, which at once caught the eye of William Stroudley, who was observing the traffic working from his office window. 1951 May, J. Pelham Maitland, “A Memorable Run by a Brighton "Terrier"”, in Railway Magazine, page 347:
    • Meantime Pope Urban II convoked two councils, one after another. 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:
    • Lunch will be in twenty minutes. Meantime: I have[…] 1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam edition, published 1992, →ISBN, page 97:
    • Repairs will be done tomorrow so meantime restrain from using the bath.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
mean time alternative lexicographic

Translations (12)

es entre tanto (locution) (meanwhile) · ru ме́жду те́м (meanwhile) · ko 그동안 (meanwhile) · ja その間 (meanwhile) · cmn 與此同時 /与此同时 (meanwhile) · es entretanto (meanwhile) · ru тем вре́менем (meanwhile) · fi sillä välin (meanwhile) · de unterdessen (meanwhile) · es en tanto (locution) (meanwhile) · cmn 其間 /其间 (meanwhile) · es mientras tanto (meanwhile)

meantime en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈmiːntaɪm/
  • mēnʹtīm

Etymology

From Middle English menetime, equivalent to mean + time. Adverb is by ellipsis from in the meantime.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The time spent waiting for another event; time in between.
    • We'll come back asap; just wait here for the meantime.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
meantimes Number=Plur lexicographic
mean time alternative lexicographic

Deriveds

in mean time · this meantime · for the meantime · in meantime · in the mean time · in the meantime · this mean time · for the mean time

Relateds

meanwhile

Synonyms

between-time · meanwhile

Translations (19)

it frattempo (time in between) · la interea (time in between) · fr pendant ce temps (time in between) · es entretanto (time in between) · fr en attendant (time in between) · sh međuvrijeme (time in between) · eo intertempo (time in between) · cy cyfamser (time in between) · de Zwischenzeit (time in between) · it attesa (time in between) · rue межичас (time in between) · is í millitíðinni (time in between) · it contempo (time in between) · pl międzyczas (time in between) · rsk медзичас (time in between) · is á meðan (time in between) · grc ἐν τούτοις (time in between) · nl ondertussen (time in between) · la interim (time in between)