Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


During

Dur′ing

,
p
rep.
[Orig., p. pr. of
dure
.]
In the time of; as long as the action or existence of;
as,
during
life;
during
the space of a year.

Webster 1828 Edition


During

DURING

,
ppr.
Of dure. Continuing; lasting; holding on; as during life, that is, life continuing; during our earthly pilgrimage; during the space of a year; during this or that. These phrases are the case absolute, or independent clauses; durante vita, durante hoc.

Definition 2024


During

During

See also: during

English

Alternative forms

  • Duhring, Duehring, Duering

Proper noun

During

  1. (rare) A surname.
    • 1858, The Peterson Magazine (volumes 33-34, page 235)
      "What a woman she is!" muttered Biddy, stooping to pick up the scattered potatoes, "I don't see what Providence meant, a-putting such a saint along with an ugly, growling man like Mr. During. I believe he's in his second childhood, I do! []

See also

during

during

See also: During

English

Preposition

during

  1. For all of a given time interval.
    I lived with my parents during the 1970s.
    The shop was one of the few able to stay open during the war.
    • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
      During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant []
    • 1909, Archibald Marshall, The Squire's Daughter, chapterI:
      They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.
    • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
      Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.
  2. At any time or period within a given time interval.
    I lived with my parents at several points during the 1980s.
    Many of the best examples were produced during the Restoration.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.

Translations

Related terms

Verb

during

  1. present participle of dure

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: gone · times · girl · #331: during · several · either · whether