linking phrase · neutral
in the meantime
/ɪn ðə ˈmiːnˌtaɪm/in the MEAN·time
during the intervening time; meanwhile; used to say what happens while something else is being done or waiting to happen
Examples
“The app update will take an hour; in the meantime, you can read the manual.”
“I'll cook dinner; in the meantime, could you set the table?”
“The experiment is running; in the meantime, the researchers analysed previous results.”
Band 8 sentence
“In the meantime, while the committee finalises its recommendations, the department will implement interim measures.”
Collocations
- in the meantime, + clause
- in the meantime do something
Word family
Common mistakes
in meantime→in the meantime
Meanwhile I will wait→In the meantime, I will wait / Meanwhile, I will wait
Say it for a higher band
5while→6meanwhile→7+in the meantime
Synonyms
meanwhile
for the time being
Easily confused
meanwhile
“The repairs will take two hours; meanwhile, customers can wait in the lounge.”
Related words
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In Sequence
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