during
preposition
UK/ˈdjʊərɪŋ/US/ˈdʊrɪŋ/
Throughout the duration of (an event or period).
Example Sentences
She fell asleep during the movie.
During the meeting, they discussed the new project proposals.
He stayed quiet during the entire presentation.
During the summer, they go camping every year.
She got a cold during the rainy season.
The children played games during recess.
During the storm, the power went out.
He learned a lot during his time abroad.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
How to Use
Indicates a time period in which something happens or continues.“During” is a preposition used to specify that an action, event, or condition occurs throughout or within a certain time frame. For example, you could say, “I studied during the holiday,” which implies the studying happened at some point—possibly on multiple occasions—over the course of that holiday. You can also use it to highlight simultaneous activities: “We had a power outage during the storm,” suggesting that the outage took place at the same time as the storm. In instructions or advice, you might specify that tasks need to be done “during business hours” to emphasize the importance of the designated window. “During” pairs naturally with nouns representing periods (e.g., “during summer,” “during the wedding,” “during the movie”), allowing you to place an event or action within that timespan. Though it often signals continuous or repeated action in that interval, “during” can also refer to a single occurrence that simply takes place at some point in that period. It’s a concise way to anchor an event or action in time without specifying an exact start or end, leaving room for context or further explanation elsewhere in your sentence. By employing “during,” you help your audience focus on the temporal relationship between two events or conditions, clarifying how they overlap or coincide.
Alternatives
If you want to avoid repeating “during,” you could use “throughout,” “in the course of,” or “over the span of.” “Throughout” emphasizes continuous presence, such as “Throughout the night, we heard the rain.” “In the course of” works well for more formal contexts, like “In the course of the investigation, new evidence emerged.” Meanwhile, “over the span of” underscores the duration, as in “Over the span of five hours, they completed the marathon.” Another possibility, depending on context, is “while,” which often suggests concurrency but can be slightly more casual: “I listened to music while I studied.” Each synonym places events or actions within a defined timeframe but offers slight nuances. “Throughout” highlights an unbroken time period, “in the course of” feels more formal, “over the span of” stresses length, and “while” often contrasts or parallels actions happening simultaneously. With these options, you can maintain variety and clarity in your writing, choosing the one that best reflects how or when your events unfold. Consider tone and context—formal writing may favor “in the course of,” whereas everyday speech could lean toward “while.”
Writing
In writing, “during” helps situate actions or events within specific periods, offering clarity without excessive detail. For instance, “He grew anxious during the long wait at the train station” neatly conveys when and why the anxiety set in. If you’re crafting a narrative, consider whether you need to highlight an event’s duration or simply specify that it occurred sometime in a larger time window. You might write, “During the conference, attendees explored emerging technologies,” focusing on the collective timeframe rather than pinpointing exact sessions. Likewise, academic or business documents benefit from “during” for summarizing data within particular intervals: “During the first quarter, profits rose significantly.” To maintain fluidity, ensure each use of “during” ties directly to a defined period—be it a season, a historical era, an event, or a timeframe like “office hours.” Mixing it with variations like “throughout” or “while” can prevent repetition, keep readers engaged, and bring subtlety to your temporal references. Harness the word when you need to situate an action in time without delimiting precise boundaries. This balance of conciseness and flexibility allows “during” to serve any piece of writing that addresses simultaneous or continuous events within a broader time setting.
Casual Conversation
In everyday conversation, “during” is a handy way to pinpoint when something happened, without making things too complicated. You might say, “I usually grab a snack during my lunch break,” clarifying that the snack time overlaps with the lunch break. Similarly, if a friend wonders what you did while you were away, you could reply, “We tried local food during our trip,” highlighting what took place in that travel period. You’ll also hear people use it to describe simultaneous experiences—“We got drenched during the storm,” or “My phone died during the movie,” quickly giving the context of when an event occurred. It’s a straightforward preposition that keeps conversations clear and focused on the timeframe. If you’re describing family traditions, you might mention, “During the holidays, we always bake cookies together.” For more informal chats, feel free to swap “during” with “while” (“I read a book while waiting for you”), but either way, you’ll get your timing across. Ultimately, dropping “during” into your casual speech is a neat way to help friends or family picture exactly when an event happened, all without fussing over details or official-sounding language. It’s a natural choice for everyday life, anchoring stories or anecdotes around key time periods—whether it’s a quick interruption during a phone call or a major milestone unfolding over a vacation.
Etymology
The word “during” evolved from Middle English, influenced by forms like “dure,” which meant “to last” or “continue” in Old French (from the Latin “durare,” meaning “to endure”). Initially, it conveyed the sense of something persisting over time. As English absorbed influences from French and other sources, the term refined its function to indicate that events occurred within a stretch of time—thus transforming into the preposition we use today. While its root connotation involved lasting or enduring, “during” shifted to reference the temporal boundaries in which something exists or unfolds. Historically, this shift parallels English’s broader tendency to streamline grammatical constructs and clarify time relationships in speech and writing. Despite these subtle changes across centuries, “during” has kept its essence as a marker of continuous or overlapping activity within a defined period. Even now, its Latin legacy echoes in phrases like “to endure” or “duration,” all of which share the idea of ongoing presence. By employing “during,” speakers and writers quickly situate events or actions in the context of a larger timescale, reflecting an enduring linguistic heritage that remains a core part of the English language.
