while away

verb

1. tr, adverb to pass (time) idly and usually pleasantly

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

In 2022, the NFL suspended then Atlanta receiver Calvin Ridley for the entire season for gambling on NFL games a year earlier while away from the Falcons addressing mental health concerns.

From Seattle Times

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

And Robinson says he has been seeing a psychologist while away from action.

From BBC

An endless scroll of homemade productions, many of them shot in small towns or farms and set to popular music, helped while away the hours across the world’s cheapest and fastest-growing mobile-data network.

From New York Times

Soon he would be with his family, sharing stories of this adventure and being teased for the beard he had grown while away.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consume
• devote
• employ
• go
• kill
• put in
• waste