footlong

[foot-lawng, -long]

adjective

1. approximately one foot in length.

   Their specialty is footlong hotdogs.

noun

1. something that is approximately one foot in length.

Word History and Origins

Origin of footlong¹

First recorded in 1680–90; foot ( def. ) + long ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

When I was young, rabies was a big concern — as a child I was warned, repeatedly, to never approach a strange dog if I didn’t want to endure the excruciating pain of dozens of injections, delivered by a footlong needle, right in my stomach.

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He whipped back around, wound up, and threw his footlong Subway sub at the agent, hitting him square in the chest.

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But the creature the institute caught on video was a footlong juvenile.

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The offering includes a six-inch sub for $6.99 or a footlong for $9.99, alongside a choice of two cookies or a bag of chips and a small fountain drink.

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Subway previously faced a lawsuit alleging its “footlong” sandwiches were too short.

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Related Words

• frankfurter 
• sausage