furlong
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of furlong
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English furlang “length of a furrow”; see origin at furrow, long 1
Explanation
A furlong is a unit of measurement that's equal to 220 yards. It takes eight furlongs to make a mile. These days, the measurement is mainly used to mark distances in horse racing. Furlongs were once a common way to measure farmland, with one furlong being the length of a furrow in a 10-acre field. This use dates back to Anglo Saxon times. Furlongs still appear on highway signs in Myanmar. Some modern cities, including Chicago and parts of Salt Lake City, have 800 address units for every mile, making each city block a furlong in length.
Vocabulary lists containing furlong
The Tempest
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2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For most of the horses, it was their first time going 1 1/8 miles, a furlong short of the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2025
This still may not be the final furlong.
From BBC • Oct. 21, 2023
It looked as though 66-1 outsider King Of Steel had pushed into an unassailable lead coming into the final furlong but Auguste Rodin caught him up and ultimately won convincingly.
From Washington Times • Jun. 3, 2023
The dark bay filly surged past Leave No Trace in the final furlong for a three-length victory.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2022
Winging the heavy air in a straight flight a crow, maybe, would have flown but a furlong from their hiding-place to the black summit of the nearer tower.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
