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Definition of length noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

length

noun
 
 
/leŋkθ/
 
/leŋkθ/
Word Family
  • long adjective adverb
  • length noun
  • lengthy adjective
  • lengthen verb
Idioms
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    size/measurement

  1.  
     [uncountable, countable] the size or measurement of something from one end to the other
    • Measure the length of the line from A to B.
    • to estimate/calculate/increase/reduce the length of something
    • in length The river is 300 miles in length.
    • The snake usually reaches a length of 100 cm.
    • Safety barriers will be installed along the full length of the road.
    • He ran the entire length of the beach.
    • Look at the length of that queue!
    • He has to hold newspapers at arm's length to focus on the print.
    compare breadth, width see also focal length
    Extra Examples
    • This room is twice the length of the kitchen.
    • He measured the length and width of the table.
    • Measure the size of the window and cut the cloth to length.
    • The fence runs the length of the footpath.
    • The pipe was six feet in length.
    • The queen bee is twice the length of a worker bee.
    • The queue stretched the whole length of the High Street.
    • The vehicle has an overall length of 12 feet.
    • There were coloured lights along the whole length of the street.
    • These fish can reach a length of over five feet.
    • a ditch of great length and width
    Topics Maths and measurementb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • entire
    • full
    • maximum
    • …
    verb + length
    • estimate
    • measure
    • have
    • …
    preposition
    • along the length of
    • in length
    phrases
    • at arm’s length
    • double, twice, three times, half, etc. the length of something
    See full entry
  2.  
     [uncountable] the quality of being long
    • Did you see the length of his hair?
    3.

    time

  3.  
     [uncountable, countable] the amount of time that something lasts
    • The average length of each song on the album is six minutes.
    • These changes will shorten the length of time spent waiting for test results.
    • She got a headache if she had to read for any length of time (= for a long time).
    • Size of pension depends partly on length of service with the company.
    • in length Each class is 45 minutes in length.
    Extra Examples
    • We discussed shortening the length of the course.
    • Each lesson was an hour in length.
    • They complained about the inordinate length of time they had to wait.
    Topics Maths and measurementb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • considerable
    • great
    • inordinate
    • …
    verb + length
    • cut
    • reduce
    • shorten
    • …
    length + verb
    • increase
    • decrease
    preposition
    • at length
    • in length
    phrases
    • length of time
    See full entry
    4.

    of book/film

  4.  
     [countable, uncountable] the amount of writing in a book, or a document, etc.; the amount of time that a film lasts
    • There is a maximum length of 2 500 words.
    • in length The document is over 800 pages in length.
    • Her novels vary in length.
    see also feature-length

    5. -length

  5. (in adjectives) having the length mentioned
    • shoulder-length hair
    see also full-length, knee-length, shoulder-length

    6. of swimming pool

  6. [countable] the distance from one end of a swimming pool to the other
    • He swims 50 lengths a day.
    • I did 20 lengths today.
    compare width
    Wordfinder
    Topics Sports: water sportsc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + length
    • do
    • swim
    See full entry
    7.

    in race

  7. [countable] the size of a horse or boat from one end to the other, when it is used to measure the distance between two horses or boats taking part in a race
    • The horse won by two clear lengths.
    Topics Sports: other sportsc2

    8. long thin piece

  8. [countable] a long, thin piece of something
    • a length of rope/string/wire
    • The timber is sold in lengths of 2, 5 or 10 metres.
    Extra Examples
    • a short length of wire
    • long lengths of wool
    • Carry a whistle and a spare length of rope.
    • The pipe was attached to the wall with a length of wire
    9. see also long
    Word OriginOld English lengthu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lengte, also to long (adjective).
Idioms
at length | at… length
  1. for a long time and in detail
    • He quoted at length from the report.
    • We have already discussed this matter at great length.
    • She told me at length about her new job.
  2. (literary) after a long time
    • ‘I'm still not sure,’ he said at length.
go to any, some, great, etc. lengths (to do something)
  1. to put a lot of effort into doing something, especially when this seems extreme
    • She goes to extraordinary lengths to keep her private life private.
keep somebody at arm’s length
  1. to avoid having a close relationship with somebody
    • He keeps all his clients at arm's length.
    • She kept him at arm's length for months.
the length and breadth of…
  1. in or to all parts of a place
    • They have travelled the length and breadth of Europe giving concerts.
    • They travelled the length and breadth of the land.
See length in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee length in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: length

Nearby words

paragraph
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 3000
A1
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