Long | Mean of long in English Dictionary

/ˈlɑːŋ/

• extending a great distance from one end to the other end
1. long hair
2. long legs
3. a long corridor
4. The bridge is the longest in the world.
5. We drove a long distance.
6. the long/longer side of the building
7. The pants are a little (too) long for me. [=they should be shorter in order to fit me]
• extending a specified distance
1. one meter long
2. The whale was 50 feet long.
3. “How long was the race?” “The race was five miles long.”
• lasting or continuing for a great amount of time
1. a long pause/wait
2. They've had a long and happy marriage.
3. She finds it hard to sit still for long periods of time.
4. It's a long movie.
5. The company has a long tradition of serving its customers well.
6. I've known them for a long time. [=many years]
7. I haven't seen them for/in a (very) long time. = (US) I haven't seen them for the longest time.
8. The changes took a long time to come. = The changes were long in coming. [=the changes did not happen quickly]
9. It happened a long time ago. [=far in the past; not at all recently]
10. The test should take an hour at the longest. [=it should not be longer than an hour]
11. She is used to working long hours. [=she often works for many hours at a time]
12. He has a very long memory. [=he remembers things that happened far in the past]
13. someone with long experience in the UN [=someone who has been in the UN many years]
14. She gave him a long look. [=she looked at him for many seconds]
15. It's been a long day. [=a difficult day in which time seems to go by slowly]
16. We took Friday off and went to the coast for a long weekend. [=a weekend with an extra day added to it]

• lasting or continuing for a specified amount of time
1. The movie is three hours long. [=it lasts three hours]
2. A day is 24 hours long.
• having many pages, items, etc.
1. a long book/essay/list
2. The team has had a long streak of wins.
• having a specified number of pages, items, etc.
1. The book is 300 pages long.
2. The team's winning streak is 12 games long.
• covering all or most of the arms or legs
1. a shirt with long sleeves
2. long pants
3. a long skirt
• going beyond the area of play
1. His second serve was long, so he lost the point.
• showing sadness
1. Why the long face? [=you look sad; why are you sad?]
• a great distance
1. He grew up a long way from here.
2. Their house is a long way (away) from here.
3. We've done a lot of work, but we have a long way to go. [=we still have a lot of work to do]
4. These changes will go a long way toward/towards making the system more efficient. [=these changes will do a lot to make the system more efficient]
5. The company has really come a long way [=the company has made a lot of progress] since/from its humble beginnings.
6. These problems go back a long way. [=these problems have existed for a long time]
7. She and her business partner go back a long way (together). [=she and her business partner have known each other for a long time]
• very long
1. I had a list of things to do that was as long as your/my arm.
• having or providing a good amount of (something)
1. He was long on criticism [=he said many critical things] but short on useful advice.
• for or during a long time
1. The extra food she brought did not last long.
2. Will he be away (very) long?
3. They'll have to wait a bit longer.
4. The mall has long been a popular hangout for teenagers.
5. They have long been devoted friends.
6. It's been so long since we've seen each other.
7. It's been much too long since we've seen each other.
8. That meeting was way too long.
9. She's been away so long. [=for such a long time]
10. We had to leave long before we were ready to go.
11. Long live the King/Queen! [=may the King/Queen live for many years]
12. her long-awaited new novel
13. a long-anticipated announcement
• for a specified period of time
1. The children played all day long. [=throughout the day]
2. We talked all night long.
3. all summer/week long
• at a time far before or after a specified moment or event
1. events that occurred long before the discovery of America
2. He remembered that day long after it had faded from her memory.
3. The book wasn't published until long after she had died.
4. He went to bed at 10 o'clock. Not long after/afterward, the phone rang.
• for a great distance
1. The quarterback threw the ball long.
• during the time that
1. The economy will remain strong as long as there are jobs to go around.
• at a time in the distant past
1. events that happened long ago
2. The announcement was made not long ago. [=the announcement was made recently]
3. It wasn't so/very long ago that this place was empty field.
• having ended, died, disappeared, etc., at a distant time in the past
1. Those buildings are long gone now.
• to require a large amount of time
1. It won't take long to make dinner.
2. This is taking longer than I thought (it would).
• Noun
• in a short amount of time
1. They said they would be finished before long.
2. Before long the light rain had turned into a heavy downpour.
3. We expect them to arrive before long. [=before much longer]
• for many years, days, hours, etc.
1. I haven't known him for long.
2. Her life did not remain peaceful for long.
3. He won't be away for (very) long. [=for (very) much longer]
4. He didn't work here for long.
5. She's been away for so long. [=for such a long time]
• Verb
• to feel a strong desire or wish for something or to do something
1. We all long for peace. = We all long to live in peace.
2. I'm longing for the time when I will see you again. = I'm longing to see you again. = How I long to see you again!
3. He began to feel that the longed-for day of her return would never come.