: the time before something happens or before a specified period ends
The new computers won't arrive until next week, but we can continue to use the old ones in the meantime.
: meanwhile entry 2
meantime he had been attentive to his other interests—
H. R. Warfel
H. R. Warfel
: time that is based on the motion of the theoretical mean sun
To find local mean time, determine how many degrees of longitude you are from your time-zone standard. (Find your longitude on a map.) Multiply this number by four to get your correction in minutes. If you are east of the standard longitude your correction is a positive number; if you are west it is negative. Apply the correction to standard time to get your local mean time.—Sky & Telescope
Sky & Telescopecalled also mean solar time
Examples of meantime in a Sentence
Adverb
He can come back to work when he's feeling better. Meantime, he should be resting as much as possible.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia Marnin
july 7, Miami Herald, 7 July 2025
The health services building won’t be torn down until March 2026, and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office said new water, sewer and electrical lines could be built in the meantime to keep the shelter open for several more years.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2025
Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
Swinson, meantime, could be a real steal if New England can bring out the best version of him.
—Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 29 May 2025
PC Magazine, 10 July 2025
Early detection reduces the mean time to detect (MTTD) malicious activities and allows for quick containment and greater cyber resilience.
—Ben Verghese, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for meantime
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Noun
The eatery will be closed in the meantime, according to the post.
—Julia Marnin
july 7, Miami Herald, 7 July 2025
The health services building won’t be torn down until March 2026, and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office said new water, sewer and electrical lines could be built in the meantime to keep the shelter open for several more years.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2025
Adverb
Tiafoe, meantime, beat Germany’s Altmaier in straight sets and is the first American man since Agassi in 1995 to reach the quarters without dropping a set.
—Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
Swinson, meantime, could be a real steal if New England can bring out the best version of him.
—Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Noun
In the mean time, read about Samsung's latest smartwatches.
—PC Magazine, 10 July 2025
Early detection reduces the mean time to detect (MTTD) malicious activities and allows for quick containment and greater cyber resilience.
—Ben Verghese, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for meantime
Cite this Entry
“Meantime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meantime. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
meantime
1 of 2 noun
mean·time
ˈmēn-ˌtīm 
: the time between two events
meantime
2 of 2 adverb
: in the meantime
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