lengthy
Americanadjective
-
lengthier,
comparative
-
lengthiest
superlative
-
having or being of great length; very long.
a lengthy journey.
-
tediously verbose; very long; too long.
a lengthy speech.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lengthy
Explanation
Lengthy things are long and drawn out. Your teacher's lengthy lecture might extend far beyond the end of class and leave many people dozing at their desks. The adjective lengthy is almost always used to describe a duration of time (or sometimes a long piece of writing), rather than the physical length of something. So long-lasting speeches and endless waits at the bus stop could both be called lengthy, but you wouldn't describe your friend's long hair that way. Lengthy is an 18th century American invention, also adopted by the British in the nineteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing lengthy
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.
See Examples For:
Job searches can be lengthy and grueling for people who are out of work and looking.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
And, yes, lengthy, instructive captions and special hashtags still help boost posts.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Wanting to avoid a lengthy court battle, Parton settled for about $1m.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Breast cancer is not included in France's official list of occupational diseases, meaning that obtaining recognition can be a lengthy and difficult ordeal for patients.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
But amazingly, after a lengthy investigation was held, the players were acquitted.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Loadings at a Mediterranean port have picked up as Saudi Arabia races to offer its oil to buyers through a lengthier — and more expensive — backdoor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Meta's spokesperson told the BBC the majority of its glasses users would not be impacted by its move to limit lengthier Conversation Focus use to subscribers.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
When it comes to longer-term bonds, the analysts’ formula requires an even lengthier holding period.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
Demand also was strong for lengthier maturities, with a new 30-year bond seeing strong demand External link at Thursday’s auction.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Many judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers do a poor job of recognizing the special needs of the mentally disabled, which leads to wrongful convictions, lengthier prison terms, and high rates of recidivism.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
After the onset of the pandemic, Corning endured six consecutive quarters of shrinking revenue, its lengthiest drop since the 2001 telecom crash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Six years would also be longer than the two lengthiest contracts Pete Carroll received with Seattle.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
Liu’s case appears to be one of the lengthiest deputy shooting investigations in recent sheriff’s department history, according to county records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2023
They were his strongest comments to date, one of the lengthiest and most passionate answers from Woods, who for so many years preferred that his clubs delivered the message.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 12, 2022
But the lengthiest story in the book, “The Farmer and the Hunt,” was unfamiliar to her, and she stared often and long at the illustration that accompanied it.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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.
