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

“All this underpins my conviction that we are better positioned than ever to win in the long run, leveraging AI to augment the strengths of the L’Oreal model,” Hieronimus said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Reverting to an earnings link could save tens of billions of pounds a year in the long run.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

However, "you'd have to see further tangible outcomes for this truce to extend in the long run."

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

“He taught me that I made the right decision and it was best for the team and in the long run best for him,” White said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

But it was obvious that in the long run I could not live.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

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Related Words

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

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