long [1] (longer comparative ) (longest superlative ) (TIME)
1 adv Long means a great amount of time or for a great amount of time.
ADV with v, oft ADV adv/prep
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. The expression for long is used to mean `for a great amount of time'.
for long phrase PHR after v
`Did you live there?'<emdash10001`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.
2 adj A long event or period of time lasts for a great amount of time or takes a great amount of time.
usu ADJ n (Antonym: short)
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.
3 adv You use long to ask or talk about amounts of time.
how ADV, as ADV as, ADV-compar than
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.
Long is also an adjective., adj how ADJ, amount ADJ
How long is the usual stay in hospital?..., The average commuter journey there is five hours long.
4 adj 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.
usu ADJ n (Antonym: short)
He was making quite a long speech..., This is a long film, three hours and seven minutes.
5 adj 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.
usu ADJ n (Antonym: short)
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.
6 adj If someone has a long memory, they are able to remember things that happened far back in the past.
usu ADJ n (Antonym: short)
7 adv 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.
n ADV (emphasis)
We played that record all night long..., Snow is sometimes found all summer long upon the highest peaks.
