long-winded

American  

[lawng-win-did, long-] / ˈlɔŋˈwɪn dɪd, ˈlɒŋ- /

adjective

1. talking or writing at tedious length.

   long-winded after-dinner speakers.

2. continued to a tedious length in speech or writing.

   another of his long-winded election speeches.

3. able to breathe deeply; not tiring easily.

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long-winded British  

adjective

1. tiresomely long

2. capable of energetic activity without becoming short of breath

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Other Word Forms

• long-windedly
  adverb
• long-windedness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of long-winded

First recorded in 1580–90

Explanation

Someone who's long-winded takes way too long to tell a story or give a speech. Once your long-winded history teacher gets started on an anecdote about the Civil War, everyone in the class sighs deeply. A long-winded explanation is one that uses many words when just a few would do. And your grandfather's long-winded toasts before Thanksgiving dinner inevitably end in everyone's food getting cold before they can start eating it. An older meaning of this word was "able to do something for a long time without losing one's breath," but the modern definition dates from the 1580s, when it specifically meant "given to lengthy speeches."

Related Words

• chatty
• loquacious
• rambling