length
10 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
lengths
plural
lengths
Britannica Dictionary definition of LENGTH
1
a
:
the distance from one end of something to the other end
:
a measurement of how long something is
—
see also focal length
[noncount]
-
“What is its length?” [=how long is it?] “It measures 10 inches in length.” [=it is 10 inches long]
-
We walked the entire length of the beach. [=we walked from one end of the beach to the other]
-
The length of the table is six feet, and its width is three feet.
[count]
-
These pins are available in one- and two-inch lengths.
-
The adult animals reach a maximum length of two meters.
b
[noncount]
:
the size or extent of a piece of writing
-
Your essay should be no more than 250 words in length.
-
five pages in length [=five pages long]
-
a book-length poem [=a very long poem; a poem that has the same number of pages as some books]
c
[noncount]
:
the quality or state of being long
-
Don't be put off by the book's length. [=(less commonly) lengthiness]
-
I was amazed by the length of the ape's arms. [=by how long the ape's arms were]
2
[noncount]
:
the amount of time something lasts
-
They want to extend the length of the school year. [=to make the school year longer; to lengthen the school year]
-
the length of a movie
-
If you're in town for any length of time [=for more than just a short time], be sure to see the museum.
3
[count]
:
the length of something used as a unit of measure
—
see also at arm's length at 1arm
-
Our horse won the race by a length. [=by a distance equal to the length of one horse]
-
They were two car lengths behind us.
-
I managed to swim four lengths of the pool. [=to swim from one end of the pool to the other end four times]
4
[count]
:
a piece of something that is long and thin or narrow
-
a length of pipe/chain/yarn
5
[noncount]
:
a measure of how far down on your body something (such as your hair or a piece of clothing) reaches
—
see also floor-length, knee-length, shoulder-length
-
the length of a skirt
-
a waist-length jacket [=a jacket that reaches only to your waist]
-
chin-length hair
at length
1
:
for a long time
-
We talked at length about the ceremony.
-
The speaker went on at considerable/great/some length.
-
No one was questioned at any length about it. [=no one was questioned for a long period of time]
2
:
in a full or complete way
-
The topic will be treated at length in the next chapter.
-
The book doesn't discuss the topic at any length. [=the book only discusses the topic briefly]
3
literary
:
after a long time
-
At length [=finally, in the end, at last], we decided to return home.
go to any length
or go to any/extreme/great (etc.) lengths
:
to make a great or extreme effort to do something
-
She'll go to any length to avoid doing work. = She'll go to any lengths to avoid doing work.
-
He went to great lengths to learn the truth.
the length and breadth of
:
through all parts of (a place)
-
I've been/traveled the length and breadth of the canyon, but I still haven't found the caves I'm looking for.
