long Hear it!

long¹ Definition

long (lôŋ)

adjective

  1. measuring much from end to end in space or from beginning to end in time; not short or brief
  2. measured from end to end rather than from side to side the long dimension
  3. of a specified extent in length a foot long
  4. of greater than usual or standard length, height, quantity, etc. a long game, a long window, a long ton
  5. containing many items or members: said of a series, list, etc.
  6. overextended in length
  7. taking too much time; tedious; slow
  8. extending to what is distant in space or time; far-reaching a long view of the matter
  9. large; big the long odds of 100 to 1, to take a long chance
  10. having an abundance of: with of or on long on excuses
  11. ☆ Finance holding a commodity or security in anticipation of a rise in price
    1. Phonet. lasting for a relatively long time: said of a speech sound
    2. popularly diphthongized the long a in “pain”
  13. Prosody
    1. requiring a relatively long time to pronounce: said of syllables in quantitative verse
    2. stressed: said of syllables in accentual verse

Etymology: ME < OE, akin to Ger lang < Gmc *lango- > ON langr, Goth laggs: ? akin to L longus

adverb

  1. for a long time
  2. for the duration of; from the beginning to the end all day long
  3. at a much earlier or a much later time than the time indicated; remotely to stay long after midnight

noun

  1. a variation of clothing size longer than the average for that size
  2. long pants
  3. a signal, syllable, etc. of long duration
  4. a long time it won't take long to finish the work

long¹ Idioms

as long as

or so long as
  1. of the same length as
  2. during the time that
  3. seeing that; since
  4. provided that

before long

soon

the long and (the) short of

the whole story of in a few words; gist or point of

long² Definition

long (lôŋ)

intransitive verb

to feel a strong yearning; wish earnestly to long to go home, to long for affection

Etymology: ME longen < OE langian (akin to Ger langen, to reach, extend) < base of lang: see long

long³ Definition

long (lôŋ)

intransitive verb

Archaic to be fitting or appropriate

Etymology: ME longen < OE langian, to belong

long4 Definition

long

longitude

Long Definition

Long (lôŋ)

Long, Huey (Pierce) (hyo̵̅o̅′ē) 1893-1935; U.S. political leader: assassinated

long Synonyms

long

modif.

  1. Extended in space

    lengthy, extended, outstretched, elongated, interminable, boundless, unending, limitless, stretching, great, high, deep, drawn out, enlarged, expanded, spread, tall, lofty, towering, continued, lengthened, stringy, long-limbed, rangy, lanky, gangling, far-reaching, far-seeing, distant, running, faraway, far-off, remote; see also endless 1, large 1.

    Antonyms short*, small, stubby.

  2. Extended in time

    protracted, prolonged, enduring, unending, meandering, long-winded, spun out, lengthy, for ages, without end, forever and a day, day after day, hour after hour, lasting, prospective, continued, long-lived, sustained, tardy, dilatory, delayed, lingering; see also eternal 1, perpetual 1.

    Antonyms short*, brief, uncontinued.

  3. Tedious

    hard, longspun, long-drawn; see dull 4.

  4. Having (a certain commodity) in excess

    rich, profuse, abundant; see plentiful 1.

as (<strong><em>or</em> </strong>so) long as

  1. seeing that, inasmuch as, since; see because, since 1.

  2. provided that, if, on condition that; see if.

before long

in the near future, immediately, shortly; see soon 1.

long Synonyms

long

v.

desire, yearn for, wish; see want 1.

long Finance Definition
A synonym for buy. If an investor owns 50 futures contracts and 100 shares of common stock, the investor is said to be long 50 futures contracts and long 100 shares of common stock. A trader who is long expects prices to rise. Long is the opposite of short, which corresponds to a sale of shares of futures contracts or common stock.
long Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • too: For too long, many jewels of art in mental health have been denied public showing.
  • no: Each file should take no longer than 5 or 6 minutes to download with a 56k modem.
  • so: And so we come to the present " G " Company, known for so long as " H " .
  • very: Soon, very long aerials, held on tall poles, began to appear in the village.
  • much: Details of the voters roll may be held for much longer.
  • relatively: Since there are 13 actin subunits per helical turn, myosin V has a relatively long step length of 74 nm.

Infinitive complement

  • get: The script takes too long to get into the mode of excitement.
  • come: It didn't take me long to come around.

Modifies a noun

  • term: Are the customer's problems short term or long term?
  • period: For a long period he didn't come to the studio at all.
  • time: Be prepared for the paint to take a long time to dry.
  • way: We are a long way from a single " life science industry " .
  • distance: This type of actuator can be designed to travel over very long distances with precise step sizes.
  • journey: You are advised to confirm any event which you may wish to attend, prior to making any long journeys.

Used with adjective complement

  • take: Each file should take no longer than 5 or 6 minutes to download with a 56k modem.
  • last: ADSL modems can therefore tolerate impulses of arbitrary magnitude whose effect on the data stream lasts no longer than 500 ms.
  • spend: Are you tired of spending long, hard hours putting together your text newsletters?

Preposition: than

  • minute: It is recommended that each side should have a track no longer than seven minutes.
  • hour: What happens if they need to park longer than 3 hours?
  • word: Quotes longer than 40 words should be separated from the main body of text and indented from the text in a new paragraph.
long Quotes

It's a play that after you've been there for a short while, you wonder how long this isgoing to take.

—Keillor, (Gary Edward) Garrison

Je regrette l'Europe aux anciens parapets! I long for Europe of the ancient parapets! "

—Rimbaud, (Jean Nicolas) Arthur

'It's long,'said the Knight,'but it's very, very beautiful. Everybody that hears me sing itöeither it brings the tears into their eyes, or elseö' 'Or else what?'said Alice, for the Knight had made a sudden pause. 'Or else it doesn't, you know.'

—Dodgson

   Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life.

—Southey, Robert

Two evils, monstrous either one apart, Possessed me, and were long and loath at going: A cry of Absence, Absence, in the heart, And in the wood the furious winter blowing.

—Ransom,John Crowe

It's a damned long, dark, boggy, dirty, dangerous way.

—Goldsmith, Oliver

The long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run, we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.

—Keynes (of Tilton),John Maynard, 1st Baron

In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest.

—Miller, Henry Valentine

Then said I, Lord, how long?

—Bible (Old Testament)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.

—Adams, Douglas Noe«  l

I fear thee ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.

—Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

Like German opera, too long and too loud.

—Waugh, Evelyn Arthur StJohn

Too long a sacrifice Can make a stone of the heart.

—Yeats,W(illiam) B(utler)

Longum iter est per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla. The way is long if one follows precepts, but short and helpful, if one follows patterns.

—Seneca full name Lucius AnnaeusSeneca called theYounger