Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

length

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun American English pronunciation: length /leŋθ/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularlength
plurallengths
  1. 1
    [countable/uncountable] 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 important.

    of equal/unequal length:

    Use two planks of unequal length.

    in length:

    The boat was 16 feet in length.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length
    1. a.
      a measurement of how long something is in time

      The length of your talk must be at least 10 minutes.

      The average length of stay in hospital is three days.

      length of time:

      You can adjust the length of time that the light remains on.

      for any length of time (=for a long period of time):

      When standing for any length of time, remember to flex your knees.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length
    2. b.
      a measurement of how big a book or piece of writing is

      His latest novel is twice the length of his previous one.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length
  2. 2
    [countable] [usually singular] the distance from one end of something to the other

    Carter ran half the length of the field to score.

    along something’s length:

    The pier was lit up along its entire length.

    run the length of something (=go from one end to the other):

    A proposed tourist trail will run the length of the river.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length
    1. a.
      the distance from one end of a swimming pool to the other. The distance from one side of a swimming pool to the other is a width.
      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length
  4. 4
    [countable] a measure of how far one car, horse, etc. is in front of another in a race, usually equal to the length of one car, horse, etc.

    He still managed to finish seven lengths ahead of the rest.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  lengthThesaurus entry for this meaning of length

phrases

This is the American English definition of length. View British English definition of length.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

pumice

a very light grey stone from a volcano

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog