adjective

long

adjective

Measuring a great distance from end to end.

"They walked down a long corridor to reach the office."

"She has long, dark hair."

Lasting for a great amount of time.

"It was a long meeting that dragged on for hours."

verb

To feel a strong desire or yearning for something.

"She longed for the days when life felt simpler."

(finance) To hold or buy an asset expecting its price to rise.

"The fund decided to long the stock ahead of earnings."

adverb

For a great amount of time.

"We waited long into the night for news."

How to Use Long

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDescribes something that stretches a great distance or takes a great amount of time; as a verb, to yearn for something.

Common mistake

As a finance term, "to long a stock" means to bet on it rising — the opposite of "to short" it.

Common pairings

a long journey long for something long overdue

Word Forms

longer comparative, longed past tense, longed past tense, longed past tense, longed past tense, Longs plural, Longs plural, longs singular, longs singular, longs singular, longs singular, longest superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “long” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

They walked down a _____ corridor to reach the office.

Etymology

From Old English long, lang ("long, tall, lasting"), from Proto-Germanic *langaz, ultimately from a very old Indo-European root also behind Latin longus.

Synonyms

View more →

lengthful lengthsome longsome prolix

Antonyms

short wide

Related Words

overweight ephemeral tall short wide ample large tight

Rhymes for long

Ong song pong tong gong mong bong Kong hong dong nong jong

See all rhymes for long →

People Also Searched

lengthful lengthsome longsome prolix short wide overweight ephemeral tall ample large tight