long

Less common meanings

11. 11
    held (vowel)adjective

    Of a vowel sound, held for a longer time. When learning to read, a long vowel sounds like the letter's name.

    The a in "cake" is long because of the silent e at the end.

    Our teacher asked us to find words with a long o, like "boat" and "home".

    UsageThe a in cake is a long a.

    Oppositeshort

    Note
12. 12
    far (sport)adverb

    A great distance, far, as in to hit the ball long.

    The golfer hit it long and straight.

    The quarterback threw long on the first play.

    Similarfar

    Oppositeshort

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13. 13
    missed (too far)adjective

    Going too far, past the place it was aimed at, as in 'her serve was long'.

    The serve was long by a hair.

    Her throw to first base was long and sailed into the stands.

    UsageComes after be, often with by: the serve was long by an inch.

    Oppositeshort

    Note
14. 14
    adverb

    Too far, past the place you were aiming at, as in the shot went long.

    Her serve went long by an inch.

    He pulled the putt and hit it long.

    UsageComes after go or hit, often with by: it went long by an inch.

    Similarfar

    Oppositeshort

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15. 15
    betting oddsadjective

    Of betting odds, paying out a lot for a small bet because the result is unlikely.

    The horse went off at long odds.

    Long odds tempted him to bet on the outsider.

    UsageOften at long odds: she bet at long odds. The opposite is short odds.

    Similarhigh

    Oppositeshort

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16. 16
    owning (finance)adjective

    In finance, owning something in the hope that its price will go up.

    I'm long on tech stocks this year.

    The fund is long oil and short airlines.

    UsageTraders say they are long a stock when they own it.

    Oppositeshort

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17. 17
    adjectivedatedIrelandUK

    Tall, of a person, an old-fashioned use in Britain and Ireland.

    He was a long, thin man with a stoop.

    The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.

    1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, ZollensteinHere, long means tall.

    Similartall, lanky, rangy, gangling

    Oppositeshort

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18. 18
    east-west coordinatenounabbreviation

    Short for longitude: how far east or west a place is on the globe.

    The buoy sits at lat 41 N, long 73 W.

    Every entry lists lat and long to four decimals.

    Note
19. 19
    nouncountable

    In finance, a person or fund that owns an asset and wants its price to rise.

    The longs were squeezed when the stock fell.

    The longs cheered when the stock jumped ten percent.

    Similarbull

    Oppositeshort

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20. 20
    verbtransitive

    In finance, to buy something expecting its price to rise.

    They decided to long the stock after the dip.

    He longed oil and shorted gas.

    Similarbuy

    Oppositeshort

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21. 21
    integer typenouncountable

    In programming, a whole-number type that is at least as big as a plain int, and often bigger.

    Store the timestamp in a long, not an int.

    The function returns a long.

    Note
22. 22
    nouncountable

    In finance, a bond or other security that takes many years to mature.

    Pension funds buy longs to match their liabilities.

    Yields on longs rose again this week.

    Oppositeshort

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23. 23
    nouncountable

    In language and poetry, a long sound or syllable, not a short one.

    We practiced hearing which Japanese vowels were longs and which were shorts.

    The vowel in beat is a long, the one in bit a short.

    Oppositeshort

    Note
24. 24
    paper sizeadjectiveCanadaUS

    Of paper in the US and Canada, measuring eight and a half by thirteen inches.

    Print the contract on long paper.

    The copier takes letter, legal, and long sizes.

    Note
25. 25
    penis sizeadjectivecolloquial

    Of a man, having a long penis, an informal use.

    The joke was that he was tall but not long.

    His friends teased him in the locker room, saying he was long down there.

    Similarwell-endowed, hung

26. 26
    plentiful (money)adjectiveslang

    Of money, plentiful, in slang, as in long money.

    He came back from the tour with long money.

    Her money's long these days.

    Similarplentiful, abundant

    Oppositeshort, tight, scarce

    Note
27. 27
    cricketadjective

    In cricket, of a fielding position, far from the batter, near the boundary.

    He was posted at long leg for the fast bowler.

    A catch at long on ended the innings.

    Oppositeshort

    Note
28. 28
    summer breaknoundatedabbreviationclipping

    Short for long vacation: the summer break at Oxford and Cambridge universities.

    He read for the exams all through the Long.

    Nobody stays up in college during the long.

    Note
29. 29
    note valuenouncountable

    In old music, a note worth two or three breves, no longer used.

    In the old chant book, the final long is held to the end of the phrase.

    In medieval music, one long could equal two or three breves.

    Note
30. 30
    adjectivedialectalMulticultural London English

    Taking too much time.
31. 31
    adjectivedialectalMulticultural London English

    Annoying or silly.
32. 32
    adjectivedialectalMulticultural London English

    Very serious or dangerous.
33. 33
    adjectivearchaic

    Due to someone or something.

    I am of opinion, that in regarde of theſe debauches and lewde actions, fathers may, in ſome ſort, be blamed, and that it is onely long of them.

    1603, Michel de Montaigne, Essays
34. 34
    verbarchaic

    To be right for, connected with, part of, or owned by something.

    Tis well, and hold your owne in any case / With such austeritie as longeth to a father.

    c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”