# distance

Pronunciation: say "DIS-tuhns" /ˈdɪstn̩s/

## Noun

1. The amount of space between two points or places, usually measured along a straight line.
   - Simple: How far it is from one place or thing to another.
   - _The distance between Earth and the Moon changes throughout its orbit._
   - _The distance from our house to the nearest hospital is almost forty miles, which worries my parents._
2. The state of being separated from something, especially by a long way; the quality of being far off or remote.
   - Simple: The condition of being far away or set apart from something.
   - _The sheer distance of the outpost made resupply difficult._
   - _Sailors grew used to the distance from land during long voyages._
4. The full length of the course over which a race is run.
   - Simple: The full length of a race from start to finish.
   - _Marathoners must pace themselves carefully over such a long distance._
   - _Officials shortened the distance after the storm damaged the track._
5. The far-off part of a view, especially toward the horizon; in a painting, the part of the scene farthest from the foreground.
   - Simple: The part of what you can see that is far away from you.
   - _Smoke curled into the distance above the far hills._
   - _In the distance, the city lights glimmered faintly._
6. A gap or difference between people or things not in space or time but in some other respect, such as their ideas, feelings, or culture.
   - Simple: How different or far apart two people or things are in their ideas, feelings or ways.
   - _A wide intellectual distance separated the two schools of thought._
   - _The cultural distance between the colonists and the locals was vast._
8. A measure of the gap between two points or quantities; a difference or variance, usually expressed with a modifying word.
   - Simple: A measured gap or difference between two points or amounts.
   - _Spell checkers rank their suggestions by edit distance from the misspelled word._
   - _Biologists measured the genetic distance between the two populations._
9. The state of people not being close or friendly, or no longer being so; estrangement.
   - Simple: A lack of closeness or warmth between people, whether they were never close or have grown apart.
   - _A growing distance had crept into their marriage over the years._
   - _The brothers never spoke of the distance that had divided them._
10. Excessive reserve or unfriendliness in a person's manner, amounting to aloofness or coldness toward others.
   - Simple: A cold, unfriendly way of acting that keeps other people away.
   - _His sudden distance puzzled his colleagues, who had always known him as warm and approachable._
   - _She treated the newcomers with a chilly distance that made any real conversation difficult._
11. An interval or length of time separating two events.
   - Simple: The length of time that passes between two events.
   - _Even at a distance of half a century, the veterans could recall every detail of that winter._
   - _At this distance of years, the finer details have faded from memory._
12. The whole length of an effort or contest, as in go the distance, to keep going to the end (in boxing, to last every scheduled round).
   - Simple: The whole way to the end of something hard, as in go the distance, to keep going until it is finished.
   - _Few startups have the funding to go the distance._
   - _He proved he could go the distance when others gave up early._

## Verb

3. To keep yourself apart from a person, group or thing, emotionally or socially, or to show that you are not connected with it.
   - Simple: To stay away from someone or something, or to show you are not linked with them.
   - _The senator moved quickly to distance herself from her former allies._
   - _The company distanced itself from the controversial advertisement._
7. To place someone or something other than yourself at a distance from someone or something else, often followed by 'from'.
   - Simple: To set a person or thing far away from another.
   - _Planners chose to distance the new runway from nearby homes._
   - _The architect distanced the guest wing from the main house._
13. To make someone less close to another person or to a group, emotionally or socially.
   - Simple: To keep another person apart from others in feeling or friendship.
   - _Constant criticism can distance a child from a parent._
   - _His secrecy distanced him from those he most needed._
14. To get far ahead of others, in a race or in any kind of competition; to outstrip.
   - Simple: To get far ahead of the people you are racing or competing against.
   - _By the third lap, the champion had distanced her closest challengers._
   - _Sprinters who distance the pack early often fade before the finish._
15. To cause a place, thing, or idea to seem far off, or figuratively unfamiliar.
   - Simple: To make a place, thing, or idea feel far away or strange.
   - _The film's grainy texture distances its events, making them feel like remote history._
   - _Wide-angle lenses distance the background, so the mountains look farther away than they are._

## Noun

16. The amount by which one musical sound is higher or lower than another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The gap in pitch between two musical sounds.
17. A disagreement or dispute between people; also, an estrangement. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A quarrel or falling-out between people.
18. The rank or social standing to which an important person belongs. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The high rank or standing that an important person holds.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In the phrase 'by a distance', a gap of more than 30 lengths between two horses finishing a race, used to describe a wide margin of victory.
- (noun) The greatest space between a boxer and their opponent within which the boxer can still punch effectively.
- (noun) The space between a fencer and their opponent, which the fencer tries to control in order to gain an advantage.
- (noun) The amount of space between soldiers or riders in a rank, or between the ranks themselves.
- (noun) On a racecourse, the point 240 yards from the winning post, once marking qualification for a later heat.
- (noun) The measurement of an object along its longest side.
- (noun) The respectful reserve owed to someone of higher rank, often with to or towards, and so formal politeness.
- (verb) Of a racehorse, to finish a set margin ahead of another horse, or to get it disqualified by finishing that far in front.
- (verb) To go the full way to a place or goal.
- (verb) To move away from and leave behind a place.
- (verb) To show or work out how far away a place is.
- (verb) To arrange two or more things with equal gaps between them.

## Origin

'Distance' came through Anglo-Norman and Old French forms like 'destance' and 'distaunce' into Middle English, and also directly from Latin 'distantia' ('difference; distance, remoteness; space between two points'). That noun was built from 'distans', the present participle of 'distare' ('to be distant, to stand apart, to differ'), formed from 'dis-' ('apart, asunder') plus 'stare' ('to stand'), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ('to stand'). The verb is derived from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/distance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).