Meaning of long In English

• 0 continuing for a large amount of time:

  • a long film/meeting

  • I've been waiting a long time.

  • It's a long time since I worked there.

  • Apparently the sessions are an hour long.

• 1 being a distance between two points that is more than average or usual:

  • long hair

  • long legs

  • a long dress

  • There was a long queue at the post office.

  • We're still a long way from the station.

• 2 used to describe a piece of writing that has a lot of pages or words:

  • a long letter/book/report

• 3 used to mean "(for) a long time", especially in questions and negative sentences:

  • Have you been waiting (for) long?

  • I'm just writing a letter but it won't take long.

  • How long have you been in England?

  • Don't rush - take as long as you like.

  • We've been walking all day long.

  • I've known her longer than you have.

  • I won't be staying much longer.

  • She left the house long before I arrived.

  • It wasn't long before he was back with his family.

  • He did not join them until long after they had eaten.

  • a long-awaited letter

  • long-serving employees

• 4 used to say that something must happen before something else can happen:

  • I can come as long as I can leave by 4.00.

  • Bring your friends by all means - just so long as I know how many are coming.

• 5 to want something very much:

  • She longed to see him again.

  • I'm longing for news of him.

• 6 written abbreviation for longitude

• 7 written abbreviation for longitude

• 8 being a distance between two points that is more than average or usual, or being of a particular length:

  • There was a long line at the post office.

  • When I was young I wore my hair long.

  • We’re still a long way from the station (= a great distance).

  • It’s a long book – over 600 pages.

• 9 being an amount of time that is more than average or usual, or being of a particular amount of time:

  • The days are longer in summer than in winter.

  • We had to wait a long time to see the doctor.

  • We went away for a long weekend in April (= Saturday, Sunday, and an extra day or days).

  • A long-lost diary was discovered among his papers.

• 10 to want something very much:

  • [ + to infinitive ] She longed to move out of the city.

• 11 used to describe the situation in which you buy and keep shares, etc. because you expect them to rise in value and make a profit:

  • Nobody wants to be long on stocks over a weekend of economic uncertainty, because stocks may fall sharply in value when markets reopen on Monday.

• 12 to work more hours each day than people usually do:

  • In spite of the New Deal, junior doctors are still working dangerously long hours.

• 13 to buy or keep shares, etc. because you expect their price to rise, so that you can make a profit:

  • The prospects for domestic demand growth in the eurozone are not great, so why not go long on sterling, where the prospects for domestic demand growth are still looking optimistic?