noun1. the linear extent or measurement of something from end to end, usually being the longest dimension or, for something fixed, the longest horizontal dimension
2. the extent of something from beginning to end, measured in some more or less regular units or intervals
the book was 600 pages in length
3. a specified distance, esp between two positions or locations
the length of a race
4. a period of time, as between specified limits or moments
5. something of a specified, average, or known size or extent measured in one dimension, often used as a unit of measurement
a length of cloth
6. a piece or section of something narrow and long
a length of tubing
7. the quality, state, or fact of being long rather than short
8. (usually plural) the amount of trouble taken in pursuing or achieving something (esp in the phrase to great lengths)
9. (often plural) the extreme or limit of action (in phrases such as to any length(s), to what length(s) would someone go, etc)
10. prosody, phonetics the metrical quantity or temporal duration of a vowel or syllable
11. the distance from one end of a rectangular swimming bath to the other
Compare width (sense 4) 12. prosody the quality of a vowel, whether stressed or unstressed, that distinguishes it from another vowel of similar articulatory characteristics. Thus (iː) in English beat is of greater length than (ɪ) in English bit
13. cricket the distance from the batsman at which the ball pitches
14. bridge a holding of four or more cards in a suit
15. New Zealand informal the general idea; the main purpose
16. at length