Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - long

I. [c red]TIME (longer, longest) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Long means a great amount of time or for a great amount of time. Repairs to the cable did not take too long... Have you known her parents long?... I learned long ago to avoid these invitations... The railway had obviously been built long after the house... ...long-established social traditions. ADV: ADV with v, oft ADV adv/prep • The expression for long is used to mean ‘for a great amount of time’. ‘Did you live there?’—‘Not for long.’... Developing countries won’t put up with the situation for much longer... For too long there was a huge gap in the market. PHRASE: PHR after v 2. A long event or period of time lasts for a great amount of time or takes a great amount of time. We had a long meeting with the attorney general... They sat looking at each other for a long while... He must have started writing his book a long time ago. ? short ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. You use long to ask or talk about amounts of time. How long have you lived around here?... He has been on a diet for as long as any of his friends can remember... She reflected no longer than a second before she decisively slit the envelope. ADV: how ADV, as ADV as, ADV compar than • Long is also an adjective. How long is the usual stay in hospital?... The average commuter journey there is five hours long. ADJ: how ADJ, amount ADJ 4. A long speech, book, film, or list contains a lot of information or a lot of items and takes a lot of time to listen to, read, watch, or deal with. He was making quite a long speech... This is a long film, three hours and seven minutes. ? short ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. If you describe a period of time or work as long, you mean it lasts for more hours or days than is usual, or seems to last for more time than it actually does. Go to sleep. I’ve got a long day tomorrow... She was a TV reporter and worked long hours... This has been the longest week of my life. ? short ADJ: usu ADJ n 6. If someone has a long memory, they are able to remember things that happened far back in the past. ? short ADJ: usu ADJ n 7. Long is used in expressions such as all year long, the whole day long, and your whole life long to say and emphasize that something happens for the whole of a particular period of time. We played that record all night long... Snow is sometimes found all summer long upon the highest peaks. ADV: n ADV c darkgreen]emphasis II. [c red]DISTANCE AND SIZE (longer, longest) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Something that is long measures a great distance from one end to the other. ...a long table... A long line of people formed outside the doctor’s office... Her hair was long and dark... ? short ADJ 2. A long distance is a great distance. A long journey or route covers a great distance. His destination was Chobham Common, a long way from his Cotswold home... The long journey tired him... I went for a long walk. ? short ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. A long piece of clothing covers the whole of someone’s legs or more of their legs than usual. Clothes with long sleeves cover the whole of someone’s arms. She is wearing a long black dress. ...a long-sleeved blouse. ? short ADJ: ADJ n 4. You use long to talk or ask about the distance something measures from one end to the other. An eight-week-old embryo is only an inch long... How long is the tunnel?... In the roots of the olives, you could find centipedes as long as a pencil. ADJ: amount ADJ, how ADJ, as ADJ as, ADJ-compar than • Long is also a combining form. ...a three-foot-long gash in the tanker’s side. COMB in ADJ III. [c red]PHRASES (longer) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Please look at category 6 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword. 1. If you say that something is the case as long as or so long as something else is the case, you mean that it is only the case if the second thing is the case. The interior minister said he would still support them, as long as they didn’t break the rules... The president need not step down so long as the elections are held under international supervision. PHRASE 2. If you say that someone won’t be long, you mean that you think they will arrive or be back soon. If you say that it won’t be long before something happens, you mean that you think it will happen soon. ‘What’s happened to her?’—‘I’m sure she won’t be long.’... If every tune from Radiohead is as good as this one it, it can’t be long before they are household names. PHRASE: oft it PHR before cl 3. If you say that something will happen or happened before long, you mean that it will happen or happened soon. German interest rates will come down before long... Before long he took over the editing of the magazine. PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl 4. Something that is no longer the case used to be the case but is not the case now. You can also say that something is not the case any longer. Food shortages are no longer a problem... I noticed that he wasn’t sitting by the door any longer. PHRASE: PHR group/cl, PHR with v 5. You can say so long as an informal way of saying goodbye. Well, so long, pal, see you around. = bye CONVENTION c darkgreen]formulae 6. a long face: see face at long last: see last in the long run: see run a long shot: see shot in the long term: see term long in the tooth: see tooth to take the long view: see view to go a long way: see way IV. [c red]VERB USES (longs, longing, longed) If you long for something, you want it very much. Steve longed for the good old days... I’m longing to meet her... He longed for the winter to be over. VERB: V for n, V to-inf, V for n to-inf see also longing