duration

American  

[doo-ray-shuhn, dyoo-] / dʊˈreɪ ʃən, djʊ- /

noun

• durations
  plural

1. 

   the length of time something continues or exists (often used withthe ).

2. continuance in time.

3. (in the philosophy of Bergson) a temporal continuum, intuitively known, within which the élan vital operates.

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duration British  

/ djʊˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the length of time that something lasts or continues

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• durational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• durations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of duration

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Medieval Latin dūrātiōn-, stem of dūrātiō, from Latin dūrāt(us) “lasted” (past participle of dūrāre “to last”; see dure ²) + -iō -ion

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Explanation

Duration is how long something lasts, from beginning to end. A duration might be long, such as the duration of a lecture series, or short, as the duration of a party. The noun duration has come to mean the length of time one thing takes to be completed. The duration of something might be known or not — in past times, the unknown length of time the current war would last was called "the duration. "Musical notes, such as whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes, have different set durations, or lengths of time for which they are held. These varying durations, when put together, create the rhythm of the music.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

duration durations

Its appearance provided additional confirmation of the record intensity calculated from the pulse energy, duration, and size of the focused beam.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026

A secular trade has a longer duration than a cyclical one and is based on fundamental shifts, such as in technology with the rise of AI.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

Now, following the investigation and disciplinary process, Devine is not permitted to play, coach, umpire, score or manage junior teams for the duration of his two-year ban.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

The average duration on new IG bonds was shorter in October due to high interest rates, with just 7.7% of deals coming longer than 10 years, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

And finally Ruby Archuleta and Onofre Martinez ushered him to a seat in the first pew, where he sat hunched over with tears in his eyes, intermittently rumbling for the duration of the meeting.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Prof Andy Jones, in endurance performance at the University of Exeter, said there were three potential physiological explanations as to why women could perform better over long distances or durations.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

"Intolerable heat will be experienced at much larger scales and for longer durations, affecting far more people than previously estimated," the study concluded.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Today’s hottest stocks have very long durations since they pay small or no dividends and dangle distant profits when they’re expected to dominate AI or space or whatever.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The device delivers pulse energies of 1.05 nanojoules and pulse durations as short as 147 femtoseconds, all from a photonic chip.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026

Over time, she could hold herself in a particular form for slowly increasing durations.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

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Related Words

• continuation
• extent
• period
• span

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