in the meantime

adverb

during the intervening time (Freq. 4)

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meanwhile I will not think about the problem

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meantime he was attentive to his other interests

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in the meantime the police were notified

• Syn: ↑meanwhile, ↑meantime

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in the meantime phrase

during the time between two events or between the present time and a future event

The government waits for an economic miracle while, in the meantime, whole industries collapse.

Thesaurus: from now or from a particular time_synonym

Main entry: meantime

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in the meantime

1 : during the time before something happens or before a specified period ends

He can come back to work when he's feeling better, but in the meantime he should be resting as much as possible.

The project is scheduled for completion in three months, and there's a great deal of work to be done in the meantime.

The new computers won't arrive until next week, but we can keep using the old ones in the meantime.

2 : while something else is being done or was being done

She spent four years studying for her law degree. In the meantime, she continued to work at the bank.

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Main Entry: ↑meantime

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in the ˈmeantime idiom

in the period of time between two times or two events

Syn: ↑meanwhile

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My first novel was rejected by six publishers. In the meantime I had written a play.

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The next programme starts in five minutes; in the meantime, here's some music.

Main entry: ↑meantime_idiom