meantime meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

meantime

noun

/ˈmiːntaɪm/

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

The time spent waiting for another event; time in between.

Synonyms: between-time, meanwhile
Derived terms: for the mean time, for the meantime, in mean time, in meantime, in the mean time, in the meantime, this mean time, this meantime
Related terms: meanwhile

adv

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

During the interval; meanwhile.

Repairs will be done tomorrow so meantime restrain from using the bath.
Meantime Pope Urban II convoked two councils, one after another.1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:

2 more examples

Lunch will be in twenty minutes. Meantime: I have[…]1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam edition, published 1992, →ISBN, page 97:
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: