long arm
Americannoun
noun
-
power, esp far-reaching power
the long arm of the law
-
to reach out for something, as from a sitting position
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.
He was impressed that Draper, working his way back to full sharpness after a long arm injury lay-off, managed to reach the last eight in Indian Wells.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Unless those buyers can entirely evade the U.S. financial system and the long arm of the Treasury, transactions with the firms would place them in jeopardy.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
The nation’s multilayered historical background has been variously stamped by a basic Arabic heritage, ineradicable remnants of protracted Ottoman Turkish rule and the long arm of the British colonial empire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
“The trial demonstrates that no matter what, the long arm of justice can always catch the perpetrator,” Ceesay told The Associated Press.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024
He pulled the man inside with his long arm and slammed the door shut.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
