distance

DIS-tuhns/ˈdɪstn̩s/

Pluraldistances

Verbdistances, distancing, distanced

30 meanings of distance

Practice

1
length in spacenouncountable or uncountable
How far it is from one place or thing to another.
Like the space you cross when you walk from your front door to the mailbox.
The distance between the two towns is about ten miles.
They measured the distance from the house to the main road.
UsageSay the distance between two places, or from one place to another.
Similarlength
Note
2
noununcountable
The condition of being far away or set apart from something.
Like how far apart two friends feel when one moves to another town.
The distance between them made it hard to stay in touch.
She felt the distance from her old home very keenly.
UsageOften used with no "a" or "the": a song made sweet by distance.
Similarremoteness, isolation, farness
Oppositeproximity, nearness, closeness
Note
3
keep yourself apartverbfigurativelyreflexivetransitive
To stay away from someone or something, or to show you are not linked with them.
Like stepping back from a fire so the smoke does not get on you.
The mayor tried to distance himself from the scandal.
They distanced themselves from the group's extreme views.
UsageSay distance yourself from something, or distance himself from, themselves from.
Similardetach
Oppositeconnect
Note
4
nouncountable
The full length of a race from start to finish.
Like running all the way around the track instead of stopping halfway.
The race is ten miles, and she ran the whole distance without stopping.
Younger swimmers compete over a shorter distance.
UsageSay a race is run over a distance.
Similarlength
Note
5
far-off viewnounusually singular
The part of what you can see that is far away from you.
Like the tiny ship you can just barely see far away on the sea.
A small boat appeared in the distance.
They saw mountains rising in the distance.
UsageSay in the distance: a boat in the distance.
Note
6
nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
How different or far apart two people or things are in their ideas, feelings or ways.
Like two people who think so differently they seem worlds apart.
There is a real distance between their political views.
The distance between the two cultures was hard to bridge.
Similargap, divergence, disparity
7
verbtransitive
To set a person or thing far away from another.
Like moving a chair far away from the wall.
Builders try to distance the houses from the noisy highway.
The zoo dug a wide ditch to distance the lions from visitors.
Similarseparate, isolate, remove
8
measured differencenouncountable
A measured gap or difference between two points or amounts.
Like the space you measure between two marks on a ruler.
The genetic distance between dogs and wolves is very small.
A spell checker suggests words with a small edit distance from what you typed.
UsageBy a considerable distance means by a lot.
Similardifference, variance
Note

Less common meanings

9
emotional gapnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A lack of closeness or warmth between people, whether they were never close or have grown apart.
After the argument, a cold distance grew between the sisters.
There was a sad distance between the old friends now.
Similaralienation
Oppositecloseness, intimacy
Note
10
cold mannernounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A cold, unfriendly way of acting that keeps other people away.
The new manager greeted everyone with a cool distance, never smiling or asking our names.
Her distance made the new students feel unwelcome and shut out.
Similaraloofness, coldness, unfriendliness, standoffishness
Oppositewarmth, friendliness, approachability, openness
11
time gapnouncountable or uncountable
The length of time that passes between two events.
Like the gap between two birthdays: a stretch of time, not space.
At a distance of thirty years, she can laugh about that bad day.
The distance between the two events was nearly a century.
UsageOften in at a distance of so many years.
Similarinterval, span, gap, lapse, stretch
Note
12
to the endnounfigurativelyusually singular
The whole way to the end of something hard, as in go the distance, to keep going until it is finished.
Like running all the way to the finish line instead of stopping halfway.
He was determined to go the distance and complete the project.
With enough training, she could go the distance in any tough job.
13
make less closeverbfigurativelytransitive
To keep another person apart from others in feeling or friendship.
Like a wall that keeps a person away from the people they care about.
She did not want to distance her son from his cousins.
His pride distanced him from the people who loved him.
Similaralienate, estrange, isolate, divide
Oppositereconcile, unite
14
pull aheadverbtransitive
To get far ahead of the people you are racing or competing against.
Like a cyclist who pulls so far ahead that the others become small dots behind.
The lead horse soon distanced the rest of the field.
She hopes to distance the other riders before the steep climb.
15
make seem farverbtransitive
To make a place, thing, or idea feel far away or strange.
Black-and-white film can distance a story and make it feel long ago.
Thirty years had distanced the war, and it felt like a story to him.
Note
16
nounobsoletecountable
The gap in pitch between two musical sounds.
Note
17
nounobsoletefigurativelycountable
A quarrel or falling-out between people.
Similarquarrel
Note
18
nounobsoletefigurativelycountable or uncountable
The high rank or standing that an important person holds.
I am not ſatisfied in vvhat diſtance properly to place theſe perſons. Some, perchance, vvill account it too high, to rank them amongſt Martyrs; and ſurely, I conceive it too lovv, to eſteem them but bare Confeſſours.
1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of BritainHere, distance means rank or standing, how high to place someone.
Note
19
noun
A winning margin in horse racing of more than 30 lengths between two horses.
20
noun
The farthest a boxer can be from an opponent while still punching effectively.
21
noun
The space between two fencers, which each tries to control to gain the upper hand.
22
noun
The space between soldiers standing or marching side by side or in rows.
23
noun
A racecourse point 240 yards before the finish, formerly used to decide which horses could enter the next heat.
24
nounobsolete
How long a thing is from end to end.
25
nounobsolete
The polite, formal space you keep from an important person.
[T]hough you ſee / The King is kind, I hope your modeſty / VVill knovv, vvhat diſtance to the Crovvn is due.
1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperour
26
verbarchaicUS
Of a racehorse, to finish far enough ahead to beat or knock out another horse.
27
verbobsolete
To go all the way to a place or thing.
The ſunne and all the ſtarres that do appear / She [Psyche] feels them in herſelf, can diſtance all, / For ſhe is at each one purely preſentiall.
1642, H[enry] M[ore], “ΨΥΧΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΑ [Psychathanasia] Platonica: Or A Platonicall Poem of the Immortality of Souls, Especially Mans Soul”
28
verbobsolete
To go away from a place.
[W]e heard the joyous voices sound louder and freer as they distanced the solemn precincts, scattering frolic and music through the town as they separated to their different homes.
1873, [Elizabeth Charles], Against the Stream
29
verbobsolete
To show or find how far away a place is.
30
verbobsolete
To put things with even gaps between them.
In the deſign of a Colonnade, or ſingle Columns, the Inter-columns are tvvo diameters, as in the Portico of St. Maria Rotunda at Rome; and this manner of diſtancing the Columns is, by Vitruvius, call'd Syſtylos.
1715, Giacomo Leoni, “Of the Corinthian Order”

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of distance apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word came through Old and Middle French from Latin 'distantia', meaning distance or difference. It goes back to 'distare', 'to stand apart', from 'dis-' (apart) plus 'stare' (to stand). The verb comes from the noun.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

English distance came through Old and Middle French from Latin distantia. en.wiktionary.org
Latin distantia means distance or difference. en.wiktionary.org
Distantia goes back to the Latin verb distare, meaning to stand apart. en.wiktionary.org
Distare was formed from dis- and stare. en.wiktionary.org
Latin dis- means apart. en.wiktionary.org
Latin stare means to stand. en.wiktionary.org
The English verb distance derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org