foreverfor‧ev‧er (also for ever British English) /fərˈevə $ -ər/ ●●● S2 W3 adverb 
I wanted that moment to last forever. Many valuable works of art were lost forever.► see thesaurus at always2especially spoken for a very long time: Once built, stone walls last forever. It took forever to clean up after the party. The meeting seemed to go on forever and a day.3 be forever doing something spoken to do something often, especially in a way that annoys people SYN be always doing something: He’s forever making comments about my weight.4forever and ever a phrase meaning forever, used especially in stories5go on forever American English to be extremely long or large: The road just went on forever.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- God's love endures forever.
- I'd like to stay here forever.
- I'll remember you forever.
- I'm staying here. If I go with you, it'll take forever and a day.
- Let me see the map, or we'll be driving round here forever.
- The memory of that awful day is forever etched in my mind.
- These wool blankets pretty much last forever, don't they?
- Those Popsicles have been in the freezer forever.
- We had a game of Scrabble that seemed to go on forever.
- Well, I don't suppose the police will let the situation go on forever!
- You can't avoid him forever, you know.
- You go into marriage thinking it's going to last forever.
- And even within a single formation the relations between instances are forever changing.
- Does all this mean that we are forever stuck with a specific impulse limit of about 450 seconds?
- One of the reasons the prairie may never be fully restored is that some parts are forever gone.
- The explanation lay forever hidden in mystery.
THESAURUS
all the time, at all times, or every time: · I will always love you.· He always carries his medicine wherever he goes.· People will always need houses.
(also for ever British English) if something lasts or continues forever, it remains or continues for all future time: · Nothing lasts forever.· He seemed to think he would live forever.
always, or for a very long time – used about changes that you expect to last forever. Permanently can be used with a verb or with an adjective: · His eyesight may be permanently damaged.· They decided to move to Portugal permanently.
for the rest of your life: · Marriage is supposed to be for life.· He was sent to jail for life.· Remarks like that can affect someone for life.
especially spoken forever – used to talk about a permanent change: · This time, he’s coming back for good.· Once a species dies out, it is gone for good.
forever – used when saying that something will last or be remembered forever because it is very good or special: · Their deeds will be remembered for all time.
for the rest of your life – used when something has affected you very deeply: · I’ll remember what he said to my dying day.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something will always happen or always continue · I'll always remember the day we first met.· She said she would always love him.
if something lasts or continues forever , it remains or continues for all future time: · I'd like to stay here forever.· The memory of that awful day is forever etched in my mind.
a word meaning forever, for a very long time, or for the rest of your life - use this especially to talk about changes that you expect to last forever: · The accident has left Hanson permanently disabled.· Thirteen students were permanently expelled from the school.
for all future time - used especially by children or in children's stories when someone feels extremely happy: · It was a beautiful day, and Ellie wanted it to go on for ever and ever.
if someone leaves, comes back etc for good , they leave or come back permanently: · The injury may keep him out of football for good.· I'd like to stay in Colorado for good.
spoken informal if you have something for keeps , you have it forever: · He's given it to me for keeps.
formal forever, used especially when saying that something will last or be remembered forever because it is very good, special etc: · The actions of those who died in the Great War will be remembered for all time.
for the rest of your life: · There's no such thing as a job for life any more.scarred/maimed/crippled/blind etc for life: · The abuse left him scarred for life.
for the rest of your life - used especially in stories, plays etc: · You will regret this until your dying day.· I will remember your kindness to my dying day.
a long time · It's good to see you again, Ben -- it's been a really long time.(for) a long time · He's lived here a long time.· The house has been empty for a long time.in a long time · I haven't heard from Chuck in a long time.· It's about the worst cold I've had in a long time.a long time ago · We met in August 1947, a long time ago.· I've been to California, but it was a very long time ago.a very long time/a long, long time · We've been friends for a very long time.· A long, long time ago, a king had three daughters.it's a long time since · It's a long time since I heard from Clive.take (somebody) a long time (to do something) · It's a big file, so it'll take a long time to print out.· It's taking you a long time to finish that assignment, isn't it?last a long time · That's a big notepad you have there, it should last a long time.
a fairly long time: for a while: · How's Lynne? I haven't seen her for a while.· So you guys were in Brazil for a while, huh?in a while: · I haven't worn that jacket in a while.after a while: · After a while, I realised he was serious.a while ago/back: · He fought for the title a while ago.· 'Is that a photo of him?' 'Yeah, that was taken a while back - his hair's longer now.' it's (been) a while since: · It's been a while since I read the book, and I can't remember much about it, to be honest.quite a while (=a long time): · He's been going out with her quite a while now, hasn't he?a long while: · I haven't played chess in a really long while.a little while: · Can I hold her for a little while?· A little while later, Rick returned with the drinks.take (somebody) a while: · It took me a while before I could understand him.· Your leg will take a while to get better, Mary.
a long time, or for a long time: · Have you been waiting long?· I won't be long.· It has long been recognized that a high fat diet can cause heart problems.long before/after: · Long after the war, the wreckage of his plane was discovered.· They ran out of things to talk about long before they arrived.· 75 percent of the battered women in our survey stayed with their husbands long after most people would have left. so long: · They've been together so long, I can't figure out why they don't get married.long ago: · I guess it didn't happen very long ago.take (somebody) so long: · I don't visit very often because it takes so long to get over there.· I'm sorry this is taking so long.
for a long time: · Have you been working here for long?· I hope his speech doesn't go on for long.· He'll have to stay in hospital, but not for long.for very long: · I haven't known them for very long.
many hours, months, or years, and a lot longer than you expected: · It was years before we found out the truth.· Sorry I'm late. Had to wait hours for a bus.· Justin spends hours and hours just playing this one game.for hours/months/years etc: · I must get the car serviced -- I've been putting it off for months.· Henry seemed to be on the phone for hours last night.months/years/hours etc ago: · I bought this pen years ago. Two pounds it cost me!· Rob went out hours ago, and he's not back yet.be weeks/months/hours etc since: · It's been years since I was there, the place must have changed.
for the whole of one day, the whole of one week etc: · It's been snowing almost all day long.· I've been thinking about you all night long.
especially British, spoken a very long time: (for) ages: · I've had that jar of coffee ages, you'd better throw it out.· Derek's been telling her for ages to get another job.it's ages since: · It's ages since we played this game - I'd forgotten how good you are.· It seems like ages since we saw Ron and Eileen. ages ago (=a long time ago): · "When did you sell the car?" "Ages ago!"· I emailed you ages ago -- hasn't it arrived? wait/spend ages: · I spent ages in town trying to find something to wear for the wedding.· We had to wait ages till the doctor could see us.ages and ages (=use this to emphasize how long something takes or lasts): · Oh come on, we haven't had chips for ages and ages.
spoken a very long time, or too long: · Let me see the map, or we'll be driving round here forever.· God's love endures forever.go on forever: · Well, I don't suppose the police will let the situation go on forever!· We had a game of Scrabble that seemed to go on forever.last forever: · You go into marriage thinking it's going to last forever.· These wool blankets pretty much last forever, don't they?forever and a day (=use this to emphasize that something continues for a very long time): · I'm staying here. If I go with you, it'll take forever and a day.
American spoken if you wait, walk, stand etc for the longest time , you do it for a very long time: · We sat in the bar drinking for the longest time.· For the longest time, we didn't even realize he was gone.
British informal a long time, used especially to say that something happened a very long time ago: for donkey's years: · She worked in the shop for donkey's years, although the pay was awful.donkey's years ago: · We used to play golf together, but that was donkey's years ago.donkey's years since: · It's donkey's years since I went to the movies.
for as long as people who are still alive can remember: · It was the hottest summer in living memory.· For the first time in living memory, old Jack had left the island.within living memory: · The site had only flooded once within living memory.
continuing for too long a long-drawn-out process continues for a long time, is very tiring, and probably continues for longer than it needs to: · The long-drawn-out campaigns that precede every election in the US have already begun.· This war is too one-sided to be very long-drawn-out. · Netscape faces a long-drawn-out battle with software giant Microsoft.· Building up a successful herd is a long-drawn out process of careful buying and breeding.
a speech or piece of writing that is long-winded is too long and therefore boring or difficult to understand: · Jacques launched into a long-winded explanation that left us just as confused as before.· Her letters do tend to be a bit long-winded.· I'm sick of reading badly-written and long-winded scripts by candidates who should know better.
something unpleasant that is protracted continues for a long time, which makes it worse than usual: · After a bloody and protracted struggle, the "Mau-Mau" fighters forced Britain to grant independence.· This marks the first day of what is likely to be a protracted and bitter courtroom battle.· There was a protracted silence, after which Lydia said quietly, 'I'm to inherit all the money -- you'll get nothing.'
formal continuing for a very long time so that it becomes boring and you become impatient: · The ride back to the city seemed interminable.· What's the reason for all these interminable delays?· She wasn't looking forward to the interminable winter nights, alone in the cabin.· He launched into an interminable monologue about his last therapy session.
to continue for too long and so become boring or annoying: · Despair grew as the war dragged on.· Presidential campaigns seem to drag on forever.· If the stalemate drags on, there could be serious consequences for the town's population. drag on for weeks/years etc: · Lawsuits about titles to land often drag on for years without settlement.· The fighting dragged on for another two years before a settlement was finally reached.drag on into October/2002/next year etc: · Analysts fear the downturn will drag on into next year.drag on until 1945/2.00 a.m. etc: · The meeting dragged on until late afternoon.
to take much longer than seems reasonable: · Getting visas to visit America seemed to take ages.· The problem with letters is that they always get lost or take forever to arrive.· It'll take days to sort this mess out.take somebody ages/years/forever etc: · It took me ages to get all that washing done.· It took Josephine months to finish writing her dissertation.
too often, in a way that is annoying especially spoken to do something many times, in a way that is annoying: · Dad, Bobby keeps hitting me!· How can I explain if you keep on interrupting me?· I keep forgetting to mail this letter.
if someone or something is always doing something, or someone or something does something all the time , it annoys you because they do it too often: · I'm sick of Harold, he's always telling me what to do.· What do you mean you never see me? You're at my house all the time.· I don't know about you, but I'm always having arguments with people!· He was always trying to persuade me to go out drinking with him.
use this when you are very annoyed because something happens repeatedly over a long period of time: · They seemed to be continually arguing.· I wish you'd clean up your room without having to be constantly reminded.
spoken if someone or something is forever doing something, they annoy you by doing it very often over a long period of time: · He never does his homework on time and is forever getting into trouble at school.· We bought a new washing machine. The old one was forever breaking down.
spoken say this when you are describing something annoying or bad that someone does very often: · Half the time the managers don't know what's going on.· I never know where he is - half the time he doesn't return my phone calls.
use this to say that something has been done many times, especially when this is annoying or does not have any effect: · I've told you time and time again not to play with matches - it's dangerous.· I see people making the same mistakes, time and time again.
if something happens with great regularity , it keeps happening, often in an annoying way: · Yes, the bank keep piling these outrageous charges on my bank account with great regularity.· With great regularity, wasps would fly in through the open window and get trapped behind the glass.
if someone talks about something ad nauseam , they talk about it for so long that it becomes very annoying or boring: · We've discussed this ad nauseam, and I don't see the point of going over the same ground again.· He goes on ad nauseam about how much better everything was in the old days.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I wanted that moment to last forever. It took forever to clean up after the party. The meeting seemed to go on forever and a day.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES His name will live forever. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever.
I wanted that moment to last forever. It took forever to clean up after the party. The meeting seemed to go on forever and a day. His name will live forever. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever. informal It took me ages to find a present for Dad.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB It took me ages to find a present for Dad.· Now, the picture has changed forever.· Your life could be changed forever.· The two families are changed forever.· Otherwise, they say, historic towns will be changed forever.· By World War I, new technology allowed the introduction of open-pit mining, and the face of Bisbee began changing forever.
· You would be so shocked and so disgusted that whatever faint chance of your return is left would disappear forever.· Some stories ready to go disappeared forever.· You put what I say in your mind and wrap it up and it disappears forever.· Islands that can sink or disappear forever.· Worse, however, is the situation regarding the back catalogue: once initial stock are exhausted the titles frequently disappear forever.· The days of the dainty cup and saucer seem to have disappeared forever.
· He had gone forever, to be replaced by the man she had really married, the ambitious and powerful Damian Flint.· Now, in the affluent West, that world has possibly gone forever.· If we do not take it now, it will be gone forever.· Rollins concludes that the Ozzie-and-Harriet days for which conservative Republicans are nostalgic are gone forever.· BWhen Theodora disappears like this, Tamika fears she will be gone forever, a fear compounded by her roustabout life.· The fabled dodo bird of Reunion Island is gone forever, as is the moa of New Zealand.
· Like their love, it would last forever.· This atmosphere can perhaps last for some time, but it will not last forever.· At this stage you might imagine your huge number of lace samples was enough to last forever.· Success is not going to last forever.· The stench of the skunk seems to last forever.· When you bought that new computer a couple of years ago, you probably thought its 500-megabyte hard disk would last forever.· I want this voyage to last forever.· It was a life that would last forever.
· I never intend to die but to carry on and live forever!· As long as he could avoid this seasonal parasite, he would live forever.· How lucky you are in Luggnagg, where a child has a chance of living forever!
· Many of these will be lost forever, before they have even been named.· But that Spring Hill may be lost forever, some residents say.· It's estimated that each day another three species are lost forever.· In the process, many irrecoverable secrets of nature are being lost forever.· She tried to regroup her scattered brain tissue, pulling back pieces of her mind before they were lost forever.
· Even when classification changes are approved, the process takes forever.· The journey into Nice seemed to take forever.
· Larger families around us were being rehoused at a steady rate, but we were doomed to wait forever.· Still, I could not wait forever.· If they are to throw themselves fully into battle by land and sea, they can not wait forever.· But people throughout national headquarters and the chapters know that their new vision will not wait forever.· The man with a gun could wait forever, but I would be gone.· He looked totally at ease, prepared to wait forever, and Paige's temper began to simmer.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1for all future time: - He never does his homework on time and is forever getting into trouble at school.
- Science is forever trying to pinpoint the truth.
- We bought a new washing machine. The old one was forever breaking down.
- And I want John to love me forever and ever.
- Bless the underground stream that gave the town its water, and pray that it flows forever and ever.
- He asked you for life, and you gave it to him - length of days forever and ever.
- Praised be the Lord who is to be praised forever and ever.
- She wanted it to go on forever and ever!
- The only way out is to be Dennis's lover forever and ever.
- To him be glory forever and ever.
- The train just seemed to go on forever.
I wanted that moment to last forever. Many valuable works of art were lost forever.► see thesaurus at always2especially spoken for a very long time: Once built, stone walls last forever. It took forever to clean up after the party. The meeting seemed to go on forever and a day.3 be forever doing something spoken to do something often, especially in a way that annoys people SYN be always doing something: He’s forever making comments about my weight.4forever and ever a phrase meaning forever, used especially in stories5go on forever American English to be extremely long or large: The road just went on forever.