long

Lasting a lot of time, or feeling as if it lasts a lot of time.

• It was a long day.
• The meeting was longer than I expected.
• Why does this film feel so long?

Similar words: lengthy, extended, prolonged

Opposites: short, brief

Common phrases: a long time, a long wait, a long day, a long meeting

Measuring a large distance from one end to the other.

• She has long hair.
• We crossed a long bridge.
• How long is that rope?

Similar words: lengthy

Opposites: short

Common phrases: long hair, long road, long tail

Lasting for a large amount of time.

• It was a long day.
• We had a long wait at the airport.
• Will the meeting be long?

Similar words: lengthy, prolonged

Opposites: short, brief

Common phrases: long time, long wait, long meeting

Moving or sent over a large distance, especially in sport.

• He made a long pass.
• The goalkeeper sent a long ball towards the striker.
• Her long throws helped the team attack.

Opposites: short

Common phrases: long ball, long pass, long throw

A computer data type for storing whole numbers, often allowing larger values than the basic integer type.

• Store the value in a long.
• The program converts the number to a long.
• Two longs hold the starting and ending values.

Common phrases: a long, unsigned long, signed long

An investor who owns an asset and expects its price to rise.

• The longs welcomed the price rise.
• Several longs sold their shares before the market closed.
• A sharp fall could hurt the longs.

Similar words: bull

Opposites: short

Common phrases: a long, market longs

To want someone or something very much, especially when they are far away or hard to have.

• I long for home.
• He longed to hold his daughter again.
• Do you ever long for a quieter life?

How to use it: long for someone/something (I long for the peace of the countryside.); long to do something (She longed to see her family again.)

Similar words: yearn, crave

Common phrases: long for something, long to leave, long for home, long for peace

For the amount of time asked about or stated by nearby words.

• How long did you wait?
• I did not expect to stay that long.
• This battery lasts twice as long.

How to use it: how long + question (How long will you stay?); as long as something (The second flight lasted twice as long as the first.)

Common phrases: how long, that long, twice as long