the longest extent of anything as measured from end to end: the length of a river.
the measure of the greatest dimension of a plane or solid figure.
extent from beginning to end of a series, enumeration, account, book, etc.: a report running 300 pages in length.
extent in time; duration: the length of a battle.
a distance determined by the extent of something specified: Hold the picture at arm's length.
a piece or portion of a certain or a known extent: a length of rope.
the quality or state of being long rather than short: a journey remarkable for its length.
the extent to which a person might or would go in pursuing something: He went to great lengths to get what he wanted.
a large extent or expanse of something.
the measure from end to end of a horse, boat, etc., as a unit of distance in racing: The horse won by two lengths.
Clothing. the extent of a garment related to a point it reaches, as on the wearer's body, the floor, or on a garment used as a standard of measurement (usually used in combination): an ankle-length gown; a floor-length negligee; a three-quarter-length coat.
Prosody, Phonetics.
(of a vowel or syllable) quantity, whether long or short.
the quality of vowels.
Bridge. the possession of four or more than four cards in a given suit.
TheaterArchaic. 42 lines of an acting part.
Idioms for length
at length,
in or to the full extent; completely.
after a time; finally: At length there was a step forward in the negotiations.
go to any length / lengths, to disregard any impediment that could prevent one from accomplishing one's purpose: He would go to any lengths to get his own way.
keep at arm's length. arm1 (def. 16).
Origin of length
First recorded before 900; Middle English length(e),Old English lengthu; cognate with Dutch lengte, Old Norse lengd; see long1, -th1
SYNONYMS FOR length
1 span, stretch, reach, scope, measure.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR length ON THESAURUS.COM
Words nearby length
lend one's ear, Lenègre's syndrome, Lenexa, L'Enfant, Lenglen, length, length between perpendiculars, lengthen, lengthman, length over all, lengthways
On Friday, the department confirmed that Clarkson was on unpaid leave and that none of his three predecessors had been off for the length of time he had been.
Alaska’s Attorney General Resigns Hours After We Published “Uncomfortable” Texts He Sent to a Younger Colleague|by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News|August 25, 2020|ProPublica
Multicultural viewers identify with sports and especially musicConsumers gravitate towards videos that are culturally relevant to them and this highly correlates with overall viewing lengths.
Multicultural audiences are making nuanced media choices|Vevo|August 25, 2020|Digiday
In contrast, skulls from dingoes in the unbaited region did not significantly change in length over the same time period.
Culling dingoes with poison may be making them bigger|Jake Buehler|August 19, 2020|Science News
The length of the average meeting is down by 20%, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, which measured how digital communications have changed since workers went on lockdown this year.
The average work meeting is 20% shorter since Covid-19|Sarah Todd|August 3, 2020|Quartz
Trust that the blogger you’re pitching to have done their research and selected a specific length of all submissions for a reason.
Nine mistakes to avoid when contacting websites for backlinks|Raj Dosanjh|July 29, 2020|Search Engine Watch
“It seems that the different standard is (based on) the length of the beard and outwardly display of piety,” Hamdani said.
That house was, at length, the only one left standing; and when we returned Mrs. W. pointed it out to me.
Retrospect of Western Travel, Volume I (of 2)|Harriet Martineau
The statement may be true; but instead of a cave there is only a tunnel a few rods in length.
Archeological Investigations|Gerard Fowke
At length we returned to our vessel, which had triumphantly fought the wind and floating trees.
Strange True Stories of Louisiana|George Washington Cable
It was a quadrangular pyramid of baked brick, a stadium in height, and each of the sides a stadium in length.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume III (of 3)|Strabo
We arrived at length last night, after a long and tedious journey, in the former capital of the world.
Louis Spohr's Autobiography|Louis Spohr
British Dictionary definitions for length
length
/ (lɛŋkθ, lɛŋθ) /
noun
the linear extent or measurement of something from end to end, usually being the longest dimension or, for something fixed, the longest horizontal dimension
the extent of something from beginning to end, measured in some more or less regular units or intervalsthe book was 600 pages in length
a specified distance, esp between two positions or locationsthe length of a race
a period of time, as between specified limits or moments
something of a specified, average, or known size or extent measured in one dimension, often used as a unit of measurementa length of cloth
a piece or section of something narrow and longa length of tubing
the quality, state, or fact of being long rather than short
(usually plural)the amount of trouble taken in pursuing or achieving something (esp in the phrase to great lengths)
(often plural)the extreme or limit of action (in phrases such as to any length (s), to what length (s) would someone go, etc)
prosodyphoneticsthe metrical quantity or temporal duration of a vowel or syllable
the distance from one end of a rectangular swimming bath to the otherCompare width (def. 4)
prosodythe 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
cricketthe distance from the batsman at which the ball pitches
bridgea holding of four or more cards in a suit
NZinformalthe general idea; the main purpose
at length
in depth; fully
eventually
for a long time; interminably
Word Origin for length
Old English lengthu; related to Middle Dutch lengede, Old Norse lengd