Added 1 October 2026

long

/lɒŋ/ adjective

In Latin: longus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about long at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having much distance in space from one end to the other.
I need a long piece of wood.
Specifically, having much distance in a horizontal dimension (see also Usage Notes below).
This table is long but not very high.
Travelling a great distance.
Smith hoofs a long ball up to Jones.

noun

A long vowel.
A long syllable.
A note formerly used in music, one half the length of a large, twice that of a breve.

verb

To take a long position in.

adverb

Over a great distance in space.
Every golfer wants to hit the ball long and straight.
Over too great a distance, beyond the target.
She hit her return long and lost the point.
For a particular duration .
How long is it until the next bus arrives?

Origin

From Middle English long, lang, from Old English long, lang (“long, tall, lasting”), from Proto-West Germanic *lang, from Proto-Germanic *langaz (“long”), from Proto-Indo-European *dlongʰos (“long”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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