come a long way

1. Make considerable progress or improvement, as in That's good, Rob—you've certainly come a long way. This usage, which transfers the “distance” of a long way to progress, gained considerable currency in the 1960s and 1970s in an advertising slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes addressed especially to women: “You've come a long way, baby.”

Example Sentences

“Video models have come a long way; this is a tremendous research achievement.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"It's a natural business conflict. Nothing wrong with it. I think we've come a long way over the last few months."

Read more on BBC

The two have come a long way from the beginning of the series when Usagi was distraught over her father’s untimely death, and when Arisu had no direction in life.

Read more on Salon

With marriage on the horizon, it seems Swift and Kelce have come a long way since officially becoming an item in fall 2023.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Now equipped with 40 beds, four en-suite bathrooms and its own night club, the historic building has come a long way from having no running water, and is back on the market for £3m.

Read more on BBC