# long

/ˈɫɔŋ/ (US) · /lˈɒŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/long
Updated: 2026-06-15

## Senses

### 1. distance in space

adjective · CEFR A1

having a great distance from one end to the other.

For teachers: measuring a great distance from end to end; having considerable spatial extent.

- The river is very long and flows through several different countries.
- The hikers followed a long, winding trail that stretched across the entire mountain range before descending into the valley.

Usage: Usually placed before a noun or after a linking verb like 'be'.

### 2. duration in time

adjective · CEFR A1

lasting for a lot of time.

For teachers: having a great duration; extending over a significant period of time.

- We had a long meeting this morning to discuss the new project.
- After a long and exhausting negotiation, the two companies finally reached an agreement late last night.

### 3. for a lot of time

adverb · CEFR A1

for a great amount of time.

For teachers: for an extended period; often used in questions or negative sentences.

- Have you been waiting long for the bus to arrive?
- The ancient ruins had long been forgotten by the local population until a team of archaeologists rediscovered them in the 1920s.

Usage: In affirmative statements, 'for a long time' is more common than 'long' alone.

### 4. to want something

verb · CEFR B2 · Literary

to want something very much, especially if it is difficult to get.

For teachers: to have an intense desire or yearning for something, especially something distant or unattainable.

- After months of cold weather, she longed for the warm days of summer.
- The exiled poet longed to return to his homeland, though he knew the political situation made it impossible.

Usage: Intransitive verb; typically takes the preposition 'for' or an infinitive 'to' phrase.

Teaching tip: This verb carries a strong emotional weight; it is more poetic and intense than 'want' or 'wish'.

### 5. finance/investing

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

buying something like stocks because you think the price will go up.

For teachers: holding a financial position that profits from an increase in the price of an asset.

- He decided to go long on gold because he expected prices to rise.
- The fund manager maintained a long position in renewable energy stocks, betting on a shift in government policy.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'to be long' or 'to go long' on an asset.

### 6. annoying/tedious

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang · British English

something that is boring or takes too much effort.

For teachers: describing a task or situation that is tedious, annoying, or requires an excessive amount of time.

- Doing all this paperwork is so long.
- I had to wait three hours for a reply, which was just long.

Usage: Common in Multicultural London English (MLE) as a general term of frustration.

Teaching tip: This is very informal and mostly used by younger speakers in the UK to mean 'too much effort'.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.