longtime
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.describing someone or something that has been in a certain state for a long time.
adj.having existed or persisted for a significant period. Almost exclusively used as an attributive adjective before the noun.
Simple“The two women were longtime friends who met in primary school.”
In context“The senator's longtime advisor resigned yesterday, ending a professional partnership that had spanned three decades of political campaigning.”
UsageUsually placed immediately before the noun it modifies.
PitfallThey have been longtime together. They have been together for a long time.Use 'longtime' as an adjective before a noun (longtime friends), not as an adverbial phrase at the end of a sentence.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
adv.for a long time.
adv.for a long period of time. This adverbial use is less common than the adjective and often appears in specific dialects or informal contexts.
Simple“I haven't seen him longtime.”
In context“The locals claim that the old mill has stood empty longtime, though records suggest it was operational until the late nineties.”
UsageOften functions as a shortened form of 'for a long time' in casual speech.
Synonyms
Usage longtime friend
“His longtime OHSU colleague and coauthor Nancy Haigwood, Ph.D., believed that pairing leronlimab with existing HIV therapies could prove more effective.”
“To advertise these products, he asked Patti Serrano , longtime friend and business partner, to drive up and down the West Coast and knock on people’s doors.”
From long + time.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.