long-acting

American

[lawng-ak-ting, long-] / ˈlɔŋˈæk tɪŋ, ˈlɒŋ- /

adjective

Pharmacology.

sustained-release.

long-acting British

adjective

(of a drug) slowly effective after initial dosage, but maintaining its effects over a long period of time, being slowly absorbed and persisting in the tissues before being excreted Compare intermediate-acting short-acting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of long-acting

First recorded in 1950–55

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:

long-acting

The asset-management firm agreed to buy a minority stake in Bayer’s long-acting reversible contraceptives business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

"Our peptide-based platform offers a new route to deliver insulin orally and may be applicable to long-acting insulin formulations and other injectable biologics."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 24, 2026

In patients who already produce normal or elevated levels of endogenous GLP-1, flooding those same receptors with long-acting agonists may push a finely tuned system past its adaptive range.

From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2026

Some of the women decided to take a long-acting contraceptive method, instead of the birth control pills, because they were worried about funding being cut again, she added.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026

No, seriously: Analysts with the firm see potential in Eylea HD, Regeneron’s long-acting eye injection.

From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023