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Oxford Spanish Dictionary

English
English
Spanish
Spanish

I. while [Am (h)waɪl, Brit wʌɪl] CONJ

1. while (in time):

while
mientras
they like to sing while they work
les gusta cantar mientras trabajan
“keys cut while you wait”
“se hacen llaves al momento”
they don't drink while on duty
no beben cuando or mientras están de guardia
while I live, you need not worry about …
mientras viva or mientras yo esté, no tendrás que preocuparte de …

2. while (though):

while
aunque
while he's not exactly brilliant, he's a good student
aunque no es lo que se dice brillante, es buen estudiante
the situation, while tense, seems unlikely to lead to war
la situación aunque tensa, no es probable que lleve a una guerra
one must encourage them, while not raising their hopes unrealistically
hay que animarlos, pero sin crearles expectativas falsas

3. while (whereas):

while
mientras que
while
en tanto que form
I'm Catholic, while Debbie is Jewish
soy católico, mientras que Debbie es judía
I'm Catholic, while Debbie is Jewish
soy católico, en tanto que Debbie es judía form

II. while [Am (h)waɪl, Brit wʌɪl] N

1. while (period of time):

wait a while (a few days, weeks)
espera un tiempo
wait a while (a few minutes, hours)
espera un rato
wait a while (a very short period)
espera un ratito or un momentito
it's a while since we had any news
hace tiempo que no tenemos noticias
a little while later he was back
al ratito or al poco rato estaba de vuelta
it's been a good while since we had any rain
hace bastante (tiempo) que no llueve
he was here a little while ago
hace un ratito estaba aquí
it happened a long while ago
pasó hace mucho (tiempo)
it took us quite a while to find it
tardamos bastante tiempo or un buen rato en encontrarlo
after a while she realized
después de or al cabo de un rato se dio cuenta
she knew all the while that he was dead
supo desde el principio que estaba muerto
I've been waiting all this while
hace tanto rato que estoy esperando
they lived in Spain for a while
vivieron un tiempo en España
sit down for a while
siéntate un rato or ratito
I'm just going out for a little while
voy a salir un ratito or momentito
for a while there, you had me really worried
me tuviste realmente preocupada un rato
I'll be back in a little while
enseguida vuelvo
she'll be here in a short while
llegará dentro de un ratito
I haven't tasted caviar in a very long while
hace mucho tiempo que no pruebo caviar
it's the first time in a long while that she's missed a meeting
es la primera vez en mucho tiempo que falta a una reunión

2. while in phrases:

(every) once in a while
de vez en cuando
(all) the while liter, arch, he told us endless lies, smiling (all) the while
nos dijo una mentira tras otra al tiempo que or mientras sonreía
See also

I. worth [Am wərθ, Brit wəːθ] ADJ pred

1. worth (equal in value to):

to be worth
valer
it's worth a lot more than I paid for it
vale mucho más de lo que pagué por él
it's a nice coat, but it isn't worth the money
el abrigo es bonito, pero no como para pagar ese precio
goods worth £5, 000 were stolen
robaron mercancías por valor de 5.000 libras
she must be worth millions
debe ser millonaria
he was worth $20 million when he died
cuando murió tenía una fortuna de 20 millones de dólares
how much is it worth for me to keep quiet about it?
¿cuánto me dan por no decir nada?
it's more than my job's worth to let you in
estoy arriesgando el puesto si te dejo entrar
she's worth ten of you
vale diez veces más que tú
it's worth nothing to me
para mí no vale nada
they ran for all they were worth
corrieron con todas sus fuerzas or a más no poder
for what it's worth
por si sirve de algo
this is my opinion, for what it's worth
esta es mi opinión, si es que a alguien le interesa

2. worth (worthy of):

the museum is worth a visit
vale or merece la pena visitar el museo
it's worth a try
vale or merece la pena intentarlo
it's well worth the risk
bien vale or merece la pena correr el riesgo
I don't think it's worth waiting for her any longer
creo que no vale la pena esperarla más
it might be worth checking whether they've received it
convendría comprobar si lo han recibido
it's not worth the trouble or the effort
no vale or no merece la pena molestarse
that's worth knowing
es bueno saberlo
don't argue with them, it isn't worth it
no discutas con ellos, no vale or no merece la pena
don't let him upset you, he isn't worth it
no te amargues por él, no vale la pena
it's not worth my while going into town for that
no me vale la pena or me compensa ir al centro para eso
it could be worth your while to make a friend of him
te convendría hacerte amigo suyo
you keep an eye on him, and I'll make it worth your while
tú vigílalo, que yo ya te compensaré
it doesn't make the trip worth his while
no le vale la pena or no le compensa hacer el viaje
if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well
si se hace un trabajo, hay que hacerlo bien

II. worth [Am wərθ, Brit wəːθ] N U

1. worth (equivalent):

$2, 000 dollars' worth of furniture
muebles por valor de 2.000 dólares
three years' worth of hard work
tres años de duro trabajo

2. worth:

worth (of thing)
valor m
worth (of person)
valía f
to prove one's worth
demostrar su (or mi etc.) valía
the car proved its worth on the long journey
en ese largo viaje nos dimos cuenta de lo bueno que era el coche

while away VB [Am (h)waɪl -, Brit wʌɪl -] (v + adv + o, v + o + adv)

we had a game of chess to while away the time
jugamos una partida de ajedrez para pasar el rato or matar el tiempo
she whiled away the hours by reading Anna Karenina
se entretuvo or mató el tiempo leyendo Ana Karenina

while-you-wait [ˌ(h)waɪljuˈweɪt] ADJ

while-you-wait
al minuto
“shoe repairs while-you-wait”
“reparaciones de calzado al minuto”
Spanish
Spanish
English
English
durante la dulce espera
while I/she was expecting
molinete
spin (while holding hands)
durante la dentición
while teething
durante la dentición
while he/she is teething
ellos se enriquecen mientras Juan Bimba pasa hambre
they get rich while the poor man in the street goes hungry
ellos se enriquecen mientras Juan Bimba pasa hambre
they get rich while poor Joe Bloggs goes hungry Brit
mientras
while
entraron mientras dormíamos
they got in while we were asleep
mientras que (con valor adversativo)
while
él ha ganado varios premios, mientras que su hermano es totalmente desconocido
he has won several awards while o whereas his brother is totally unknown
endenantes
a while ago
mientras él esté presente el tema de los salarios es inabordable
we cannot broach o tackle the question of salaries while he is present

in the PONS Dictionary

English
English
Spanish
Spanish

I. while [waɪl] N

while
rato m
a short while
un ratito
quite a while
bastante tiempo
after a while
después de un tiempo
for a while
durante un rato
once in a while
de vez en cuando

II. while [waɪl] CONJ

1. while (during which time):

while
mientras
I did it while he was sleeping
lo hice mientras él dormía
while I live
mientras viva

2. while (although):

while
aunque
while I like it, I won't buy it
aunque me guste, no lo compraré
while I know it's true ...
a pesar de que sé que es verdad...

while away VB trans

while away
pasar
to while away the time
hacer tiempo
to make hay while the sun shines
aprovechar la oportunidad cuando se presenta
while the going is good
mientras las condiciones lo permitan
Spanish
Spanish
English
English
llicta
potato meal cake (type of hard cake eaten while chewing coca to give flavour to the coca ball)
mientras (que)
while
se acaloró al correr
he/she got hot (while) running
la ocasión la pintan calva prov
strike while the iron is hot prov
la ocasión la pintan calva prov
make hay while the sun shines prov
según
while
segar la hierba en verde
to cut the grass while it's green
in the PONS Dictionary
English
English
Spanish
Spanish

I. while [hwaɪl] N

while
rato m
a short while
un ratito
quite a while
bastante tiempo
after a while
después de un tiempo
for a while
durante un rato
once in a while
de vez en cuando

II. while [hwaɪl] CONJ

1. while (during which time):

while
mientras
I did it while he was sleeping
lo hice mientras él dormía
while I'm alive
mientras (que yo) viva

2. while (although):

while
aunque
while I like it, I won't buy it
aunque me guste, no lo compraré
while I know it's true...
a pesar de que sé que es verdad...

while away VB trans

while away
pasar
to while away the time
hacer tiempo
while the going is good
mientras las condiciones lo permitan
to be worth sb's while it isn't worth my while
no me compensa
to make sth worth sb's while
compensar a alguien por algo
Spanish
Spanish
English
English
llicta
potato meal cake (type of hard cake eaten while chewing coca to give flavor to the coca ball)
mientras (que)
while
se acaloró al correr
he/she got hot (while) running
aquí te pillo, aquí te mato fig
to strike while the iron is hot
unos tienen la fama y otros cardan la lana prov
some do all the work while others get all the glory prov
según
while