at length

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In full, extensively. For example, The preacher went on at length about sin, or I have read at length about these cameras. [c. 1500]

After a long time, finally, as in At length the procession ended. [Early 1500s] Also see in the long run.

QUIZZES

We understand! Words are tricky that way. Take this quiz on the Words of the Day from February, 2021, to show that you’re far from frumious!

Question 1 of 10

Which Word of the Day means “happening within or being the created world of a story”?

To his critics, he explained—sometimes at painful length—his reasoning against it.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“It seems that the different standard is (based on) the length of the beard and outwardly display of piety,” Hamdani said.
Disco Mullah Blasphemy Row Highlights Pakistan’s Hypocrisy|Shaheen Pasha|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hitchcock was fascinated when I pointed out the similarity, and considered it at some length.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The camera dollied backward along the length of the tower's staircase while simultaneously its lens zoomed forward.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I spoke first with Scott Ellman, a student at Wesleyan University and now the Huffington Post editor-at-large for his campus.
Fraternities in a Post-UVA World|Samantha Allen|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It ended on a complaint that she was 'tired rather and spending my time at full length on a deck-chair in the garden.'
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
These sections also have vibrations of their own which are of shorter length and more rapid motion.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Besides this fundamental or primary vibration, the movement divides itself into segments, or sections, of the entire length.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
At length only four or five flames remained, feebly wavering in their pools of melted wax.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
The experience of the Jesuit fathers at Port Royal is related at length, from their own point of view.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various