Length | Mean of length in English Dictionary

/ˈlɛŋθ/

• Noun
• the distance from one end of something to the other end
1. “What is its length?” [=how long is it?] “It measures 10 inches in length.” [=it is 10 inches long]
2. We walked the entire length of the beach. [=we walked from one end of the beach to the other]
3. The length of the table is six feet, and its width is three feet.
4. These pins are available in one- and two-inch lengths.
5. The adult animals reach a maximum length of two meters.
• the size or extent of a piece of writing
1. Your essay should be no more than 250 words in length.
2. five pages in length [=five pages long]
3. a book-length poem [=a very long poem; a poem that has the same number of pages as some books]
• the quality or state of being long
1. Don't be put off by the book's length. [=(less commonly) lengthiness]
2. I was amazed by the length of the ape's arms. [=by how long the ape's arms were]

• the amount of time something lasts
1. They want to extend the length of the school year. [=to make the school year longer; to lengthen the school year]
2. the length of a movie
3. If you're in town for any length of time [=for more than just a short time], be sure to see the museum.
• the length of something used as a unit of measure
1. Our horse won the race by a length. [=by a distance equal to the length of one horse]
2. They were two car lengths behind us.
3. I managed to swim four lengths of the pool. [=to swim from one end of the pool to the other end four times]
• a piece of something that is long and thin or narrow
1. a length of pipe/chain/yarn
• a measure of how far down on your body something (such as your hair or a piece of clothing) reaches
1. the length of a skirt
2. a waist-length jacket [=a jacket that reaches only to your waist]
3. chin-length hair
• for a long time
1. We talked at length about the ceremony.
2. The speaker went on at considerable/great/some length.
3. No one was questioned at any length about it. [=no one was questioned for a long period of time]
• in a full or complete way
1. The topic will be treated at length in the next chapter.
2. The book doesn't discuss the topic at any length. [=the book only discusses the topic briefly]
• after a long time
1. At length [=finally, in the end, at last], we decided to return home.
• to make a great or extreme effort to do something
1. She'll go to any length to avoid doing work. = She'll go to any lengths to avoid doing work.
2. He went to great lengths to learn the truth.
• through all parts of (a place)
1. I've been/traveled the length and breadth of the canyon, but I still haven't found the caves I'm looking for.