arm's-length

[ahrmz-lengkth, -length]

adjective

not closely or intimately connected or associated; distant; remote: an arm's-length relationship.

Origin of arm's-length

First recorded in 1645–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arm's-length

distant, remote

British Dictionary definitions for arm's-length

arm's-length

adjective

lacking intimacy or friendliness, esp when possessing some special connection, such as previous closenesswe now have an arm's-length relationship

(of commercial transactions) in accordance with market values, disregarding any connection such as common ownership of the companies involved

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