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long

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adverb American English pronunciation: long /lɔŋ/ 
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comparativelonger
superlativelongest
  1. 1
    for a long period of time

    I hope you haven’t been waiting long.

    People are living longer nowadays.

    Smoking has long been linked to lung cancer.

    He wanted to stay as long as he could.

    Their relationship didn’t last long.

  2. 2
    much earlier or later than a particular event or period
    long before:

    I knew her long before she became famous.

    long after:

    I was born long after my parents got married.

    long ago:

    I should have ended the relationship long ago.

    long since:

    The time for negotiations has long since passed.

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