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definitions

along

[ uh-lawng, uh-long ]
/ əˈlɔŋ, əˈlɒŋ /
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preposition

adverb

Verb Phrases

get along. get1(def 36).

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RELATED WORDS

amid, as, meanwhile, mid, midst, over, pending, throughout, until, when, while

Nearby words

  1. aloha shirt,
  2. aloha state,
  3. aloidae,
  4. aloin,
  5. alone,
  6. along for the ride,
  7. along in years,
  8. along the lines of,
  9. along with,
  10. alongships

Idioms

    all along, all the time; throughout: I knew all along that it was a lie.
    be along, Informal. to arrive at a place; come: They should be along soon.

Origin of along

before 900; Middle English; Old English andlang, equivalent to and- (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Norse and-, Gothic and(a)-, Old High German ant-, prefix with orig. sense “facing”; cf. answer) + lang long1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for all along

along

/ (əˈlɒŋ) /

preposition

over or for the length of, esp in a more or less horizontal planealong the road

adverb

continuing over the length of some specified thing
in accompaniment; together with some specified person or peoplehe says he'd like to come along
forwardthe horse trotted along at a steady pace
to a more advanced statehe got the work moving along
along with accompanying; together withconsider the advantages along with the disadvantages

Word Origin for along

Old English andlang, from and- against + lang long 1; compare Old Frisian andlinga, Old Saxon antlang

xref

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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for all along

along

prep.

Old English andlang "entire, continuous; extended; all day long; alongside of," from and- "opposite, against" (from Proto-Germanic *andi-, *anda-, from PIE *anti "against," locative singular of *ant- "front, forehead;" see ante) + lang "long" (see long (adj.)). Sense extended to "through the whole length of."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with all along

all along

From the start, throughout, from end to end, as in I've known he was innocent all along. [c. 1600] Also see all along the line.

along

In addition to the idioms beginning with along

  • along for the ride
  • along in years
  • alongside of
  • along the lines of
  • along with

also see:

  • all along
  • all along the line
  • be along
  • come along
  • follow along
  • get along

go alongplay alongrun along string along.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.