long

I UK [lɒŋ] / US [lɔŋ] adjective
Word forms "long":
adjective long comparative longer superlative longest
***

1) lasting for a large amount of time

It's a long time since I saw Rachel.

There was a long pause before he spoke.

Many people face a long wait for surgery.

I haven't spoken to him for a long while.

He has a long history of mental illness.

a) seeming to last for a very long time, especially because you are bored or tired

It had been a long week.

b) if you work long hours or a long day, you work more than usual

c) if you have a long memory, you remember even small things that happened many years ago

2)

a) measuring a large amount from one end to the other

a woman with long blonde hair

There was a long queue outside the bank.

We walked into a long narrow hall.

It's the longest tunnel in Europe.

b) covering a large distance

We went for a long walk.

It's a long way to Tokyo from here.

3)

a) used for saying or asking how far it is from one end of something to the other

10 metres/2 centimetres/7 inches etc long:

The room was 3 metres long.

how long...?:

How long do you think the table is?

b) used for saying or asking about the amount of time that something lasts

2 hours/an hour etc long:

The journey was about an hour long.

how long...?:

How long was the film?

4)

a) a long book, letter, report etc has a lot of pages

b) a long list has a lot of things on it

5) long dresses, trousers, sleeves etc cover your arms or legs

a shirt with long sleeves

She came down to dinner in a long skirt.

6) a long drink is one that is served in a tall glass

7) linguistics a long vowel is a vowel that is pronounced for a longer time than most other vowels

8) in sport, a long ball is one that is kicked or hit so it travels over a large distance, or kicked or hit beyond a line

•

how long is a piece of string? — British

spoken used for saying that it is impossible to answer a question about how big something is or how much time something will take

"How long does it take for a claim to be processed?" "How long is a piece of string?"

in the long run/term — not immediately but at some time in the future

Cutting jobs could be more expensive in the long run if we have to hire freelancers.

not by a long shot/chalk/way — informal used for saying that something is not true at all

They've achieved a lot, but they haven't finished yet – not by a long way.

take a long hard look at someone/something — to think about a problem or issue very carefully in order to find out what is wrong or to find a better way of dealing with it

We should take a long hard look at the way we deal with refugees in this country.

take the long view (of something) — to think about the effects that something will have in the future rather than worrying about the present situation

to cut/make a long story short — used for saying that you will tell the end or the main point of a story without giving all the details

To cut a long story short, we both spent the night in jail.

- as long as your arm

- at long last

- go a long way

- go a long way towards doing something

- have come a long way

- have a long way to go

- it's a long story

- the long arm of the law

- long in the tooth

- long odds

- long on something

- a long shot

- long time no see

- not long for this world

II UK [lɒŋ] / US [lɔŋ] adverb
Word forms "long":
comparative longer superlative longest
***

1) for a long period of time

I hope you haven't been waiting long.

People are living longer nowadays.

Smoking has long been linked to lung cancer.

He wanted to stay as long as he could.

Their relationship didn't last long.

2) much earlier or later than a particular event or period

long before:

I knew her long before she became famous.

long after:

I was born long after my parents got married.

long ago:

I should have ended the relationship long ago.

long since:

The time for negotiations has long since passed.

•

all day/week/year etc long — for the whole day/year/week etc

I don't think I could look after children all day long.

as/so long as — used before saying the conditions that will make something else happen or be true

My parents don't care what job I do as long as I'm happy.

be/take long — [always in negatives or questions] used for saying or asking whether you will have to wait a long time for someone or something to be ready, arrive, or happen

Will you be long, or shall I wait?

I'm just going to the shops – I won't be long.

Dinner won't be long now.

long live someone/something — used for expressing your support for or loyalty to someone or something

He was greeted with chants of "Long live the king!"

- no longer

See:

so I

III UK [lɒŋ] / US [lɔŋ] noun [uncountable, usually in negatives or questions] *

a long period of time

It didn't take long to get there.

It wasn't long before I realized I'd made a mistake.

•

- before long

- for long

- the long and the short of it

IV UK [lɒŋ] / US [lɔŋ] verb [intransitive]
Word forms "long":
present tense I/you/we/they long he/she/it longs present participle longing past tense longed past participle longed
*

a) to want something very much

long to do something:

She longed to see him again.

long for:

It was freezing outside, and Marcia longed for a hot drink.

This was the excitement that she had secretly longed for.

long for someone to do something:

I was tired and was longing for her to leave.

b) literary to want to be with someone who you love, especially when this is not likely to happen soon