length

length
length
W2S2 [leŋθ] n
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
1¦(size)¦
2¦(time)¦
3¦(books/films etc)¦
4 run/stretch/walk etc the (full) length of something
5 shoulder-length/knee-length etc
6 go to some/great/any lengths (to do something)
7 at (some/great etc) length
8 the length and breadth of the area/country/land etc
9¦(piece)¦
10¦(in races)¦
11¦(swimming)¦
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[: Old English; Origin: lengthu, from lang; LONG1]
1.) ¦(SIZE)¦ [U and C]
the measurement of how long something is from one end to the other
→↑breadth, width ↑width
▪ We measured the length and width of the living room.
a length of 1 metre/2 feet etc
▪ Some fish can grow to a length of four feet.
2 feet/10 metres etc in length
▪ The hotel pool is 15 metres in length.
▪ You'll need several pieces of string of different lengths.
2.) ¦(TIME)¦ [U and C]
the amount of time that you spend doing something or that something continues
→↑duration length of
▪ Your pension will depend on your length of employment.
▪ What's the average length of stay in hospital?
(not) for any length of time
(=not for very long)
▪ He wasn't left alone for any length of time.
3.) ¦(BOOKS/FILMS ETC)¦ [U and C]
the amount of writing in a book, or the amount of time that a film, play etc continues
length of
▪ We had to cut the length of the book by one third.
of this length
▪ Films of this length (=as long as this) are pretty unusual.
4.) run/stretch/walk etc the (full) length of sth
to go or move from one end to the other of something
▪ The wall ran the full length of the garden.
▪ They walked the length of the pier.
5.) shoulder-length/knee-length etc
reaching down as far as your shoulders etc
▪ shoulder-length hair
▪ an ankle-length dress
6.) go to some/great/any lengths (to do sth)
to try very hard or to do whatever is necessary to achieve something that is important to you
▪ He went to great lengths to keep their name out of the papers.
▪ Bella would go to any lengths to fulfil her ambition.
7.) at (some/great etc) length
a) if you talk at length about something, you talk about it for a long time
speak/talk etc at length
▪ The young people spoke at length about their experiences.
▪ We've already discussed the subject at great length.
b) literary after a long time
▪ 'I don't agree,' she said at length.
8.) the length and breadth of the area/country/land etc
in or through every part of a large area
▪ The police searched the length and breadth of the country.
9.) ¦(PIECE)¦
a piece of something long and thin
a length of rope/pipe/wire etc
10.)¦(IN RACES)¦
the measurement of a horse, boat etc from one end to the other - used when saying how far the horse, boat etc is ahead of another
by a/one/two etc lengths
▪ The horse won by three lengths.
11.) ¦(SWIMMING)¦
the distance from one end of a swimming pool to the other
do/swim a length
▪ She does at least 20 lengths a day.
→hold sth at arm's length at ↑arm1 (8), keep/hold sb at arm's length at ↑arm1 (9), ↑full-length1

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • length — [ leŋθ ] noun *** 1. ) count or uncount a measurement of how long something is in size: Cut the cloth to the required length. This beautiful bird is small, with a total length of about three inches. The length of your swimming pool is not… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Length — is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end. This may be distinguished from height, which is vertical extent, and width or breadth, which are the… …   Wikipedia

  • Length — (l[e^]ngth), n. [OE. lengthe, AS. leng[eth], fr. lang, long, long; akin to D. lengte, Dan. l[ae]ngde, Sw. l[ a]ngd, Icel. lengd. See {Long}, a. ] 1. The longest, or longer, dimension of any object, in distinction from {breadth} or {width}; extent …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • length — [leŋkth, leŋth] n. [ME < OE lengthu < base of lang, LONG1 + TH1] 1. the measure of how long a thing is; measurement of anything from end to end; the greatest of the two or three dimensions of anything 2. extent in space; distance anything… …   English World dictionary

  • length — length; length·en; length·en·er; length·ful; length·i·ly; length·i·ness; length·ways; …   English syllables

  • length´i|ly — length|y «LEHNGK thee, LEHNG », adjective, length|i|er, length|i|est. 1. a) having unusually great length; long. b) (of speeches, a speaker, a writer, or the like) too long; long winded; tedious: »His directions were so le …   Useful english dictionary

  • length|y — «LEHNGK thee, LEHNG », adjective, length|i|er, length|i|est. 1. a) having unusually great length; long. b) (of speeches, a speaker, a writer, or the like) too long; long winded; tedious: »His directions were so le …   Useful english dictionary

  • length — ► NOUN 1) the measurement or extent of something from end to end; the greater or greatest of two or more dimensions of a body. 2) the amount of time occupied by something. 3) the quality of being long. 4) the full distance that a thing extends… …   English terms dictionary

  • -length — [leŋkth, leŋth] combining form forming adjectives of a (specified) length, of such length as to reach a (specified) point or part [full length] * * * …   Universalium

  • -length — [leŋkth, leŋth] combining form forming adjectives of a (specified) length, of such length as to reach a (specified) point or part [full length] …   English World dictionary

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