long1
adj.
(longer, longest)
- of a great distance or duration.
▸of a specified distance or duration.
▸(of a ball in sport) travelling a great distance, or further than expected.
- relatively great in extent.
▸having a specified extent.
- Phonetics (of a vowel) categorized as long with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel
/uː/
in food).
▸Prosody (of a vowel or syllable) having the greater of the two recognized durations.
- (of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a low level of probability.
- Finance (of shares or other assets) bought in advance, with the expectation of a rise in price.
▸(of a security) maturing at a distant date.
- (of a drink) large, refreshing, and containing little or no alcohol.
-
(long on)
informal well supplied with.
n.
- a long time.
- a long sound, vowel, or syllable.
-
(longs)
Finance long securities or assets.
adv.
(
longer; longest)
- for a long time.
▸at a distant time:
long ago.
▸throughout a specified period of time:
all day long.
- (with reference to the ball in sport) at, to, or over a great distance.
Phrase
- as
(or so)
long as
- during the whole time that.
- provided that.
- be long
take a long time. - in the long run
(or term)
eventually. - the long and the short of it
all that can or need be said. - long in the tooth
rather old.
[orig. said of horses, from the recession of the gums with age.]
Derivative
Etymology
OE lang, long (adj.), lange, longe (adv.), of Gmc origin.
long2
v.
(
long for/to do)
have a strong wish for or to do.
Etymology
OE langian ‘grow long’, also ‘yearn’, of Gmc origin.