distances

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of distance.

   The map listed the distances between all the major towns.

   Cyclists in the event covered very different distances depending on their category.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the measurable meanings: the miles between towns, the stretches a race covers, the intervals between events. Keeping your distance stays singular, because there the word names an abstract separation rather than a counted span. The fixed phrases resist the plural too. A horse wins by a distance, and a landscape is seen from a distance, so a plural usually signals something you could, in principle, measure.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of distance.

   The candidate carefully distances his campaign from the scandal.

   The company distances itself from any statements made by former employees.

   Note

   A verb that always takes an object and usually reaches for from: a party distances its candidate from a scandal. Its most frequent shape is reflexive, as in she distances herself or the firm distances itself, meaning a refusal to be associated. On the racetrack it is blunter. A runner who distances the field simply leaves it behind, outpacing the other competitors rather than disowning them.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2