along

American  

[uh-lawng, uh-long] / əˈlɔŋ, əˈlɒŋ /

preposition

1. through, on, beside, over, or parallel to the length or direction of; from one end to the other of.

   to walk along a highway; to run a border along a shelf.

2. during; in the course of.

   Somewhere along the way I lost my hat.

3. in conformity or accordance with.

   I plan to revise the article along the lines suggested.

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adverb

1. by the length; lengthwise; parallel to or in a line with the length or direction.

   He ran along beside me.

2. with a progressive motion; onward.

   The police ordered the line to move along.

3. (of time) some way on.

   along toward evening.

4. in company; in agreement (usually followed bywith ).

   I'll go along with you. He planned the project along with his associates.

5. as a companion; with one.

   She took her brother along.

6. from one person or place to another.

   The order was passed along from the general to the captain and from the captain to a private.

7. at or to an advanced place or state.

   Work on the new ship is quite far along.

8. as an accompanying item; on hand.

   Bring along your umbrella.

9. Chiefly Southern U.S. and British Dialect. along of,

   1. owing to; because of.

      We weren't invited, along of your rudeness.

   2. in company with.

      You come along of me to the store.

verb phrase

1. get along. get.

idioms

1. all along, all the time; throughout.

   I knew all along that it was a lie.

2. be along, to arrive at a place; come.

   They should be along soon.

along British  

/ əˈlɒŋ /

preposition

1. over or for the length of, esp in a more or less horizontal plane

   along the road

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adverb

1. continuing over the length of some specified thing

2. in accompaniment; together with some specified person or people

   he says he'd like to come along

3. forward

   the horse trotted along at a steady pace

4. to a more advanced state

   he got the work moving along

5. accompanying; together with

   consider the advantages along with the disadvantages

along More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing along

• all along
• all along the line
• be along
• come along
• follow along
• get along
• go along
• play along
• run along
• string along

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Etymology

Origin of along

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English andlang, equivalent to and- (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Norse and-, Gothic and(a)-, Old High German ant-; akin to Greek antí- and Latin ante-, prefix with the original sense “opposite, facing”) + lang ; long ¹. answer

Example Sentences

Property values along Baxter Road are already falling, and oceanfront homes account for a hefty portion of the island’s tax base.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Under a plea agreement, Gershman faces a sentence of 24 months in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Muse Spark succeeds Llama 4, released by the Silicon Valley-based firm a year ago, and will power Meta's AI app and smart glasses along with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger features.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, says 80% of Iran's missile facilities have been destroyed, along with 80% of Iran's air defence systems and 90% of its weapons factories.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

No one liked humans, not even the half-brained toads who lived in the muddy ditch along the road.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• also
• as well
• simultaneously
• too