student asking question

What does "been a while" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Been a while" is short for "it's been a while," which is an informal expression meaning that it's been a long time since someone has seen someone/something. Iron Man has said this as a greeting to Dr. Banner, as it's been a while (long time) since they last saw each other. Ex: A: Hi Kathy! It's been a while, how are you? B: I'm doing great, how about you? Ex: It's been a while since I went biking. Ex: My driving skills are a little rusty, as it's been a while since the last time I drove.

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