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length

noun

Simple meaning

The distance measured along the longest dimension of an object.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lehngkth
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlɛŋkθ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The distance measured along the longest dimension of an object.

  2. The linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place

    “The length of the table was 5 feet.”

  3. The property of being the extent of something from beginning to end

    “The editor limited the length of my article to 500 words.”

  4. A section of something that is long and narrow

  5. Part of something that is long; a physical piece of something.

  6. figuratively

    Total extent.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The distance measured along the longest dimension of an object.

Used this way, length is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

How It’s Used

The word’s distinct uses, one example each.

  • Distance / linearnoun

    “The length of the table was 5 feet.”

  • Propertynoun

    “The editor limited the length of my article to 500 words.”

More ways to use length

  • “The length of the table was 5 feet.”noun
  • “The editor limited the length of my article to 500 words.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Length

some lengthentire length

Size

greater length

Other combinations

focal lengthfull lengthtotal lengthgreat lengthwhole length

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • lengthwiseadverbDerived adverb

    In the direction of the length.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • length of servicenounCompound term

    Duration of service.

  • focal lengthnounCompound term

    The distance from a lens to its focus.

  • half-lengthnounCompound term

    A portrait showing the body from only the waist up.

  • hip-lengthadjectiveCompound term

    Extending to or just over the hips.

  • arm's lengthnounCompound term

    A distance sufficient to exclude intimacy.

  • knee-lengthadjectiveCompound term

    Extending to the knee.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: distance measured along the longest dimension of an object

distance

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.