in the long run

Idioms  

1. Over a lengthy period of time, in the end. For example, He realized that in the long run, their argument wouldn't seem so awful. This expression, which originated as at the long run in the early 1600s, presumably alludes to a runner who continues on his course to the end. Economist John Maynard Keynes used it in a much-quoted quip about economic planning: “In the long run we are all dead.” The antonym, in the short run, meaning “over a short period of time,” dates only from the 1800s. The novelist George Eliot used both in a letter (October 18, 1879): “Mrs. Healy's marriage is surely what you expected in the long or short run.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in the long run

His job was to tell them not to put too much into cash versus other investments, because cash can’t outrun inflation in the long run.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Tom Anderson has owned a neighborhood pub and wine shop at the edge of Eagle Rock for seven years and thinks that offloading commuter traffic could be helpful to the area in the long run.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The government said some families would save up to £50 per child, but school wear suppliers have argued it could mean parents actually spend more in the long run.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Those who refuse to play pay a high price in short-term opportunity cost, but win in the long run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Power over the boy was sure to be power over Trotter in the long run.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

Related Words

• already
• belatedly
• eventually
• someday
• sooner or later
• subsequently
• ultimately