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

But forming a dependency on an app didn’t feel sustainable or good for me in the long run.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 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

His war with Iran unintentionally set off a scramble for renewable energy sources, which promise to be cheaper in the long run and available on a faster timescale than many initially anticipated.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

“Harry’s historical irrelevance in the long run is guaranteed,” wrote Prince Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton in a recent Substack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 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