long distance

¹ American  

noun

1. telephone service between distant places.

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long-distance ² American  

[lawng-dis-tuhns, long-] / ˈlɔŋˈdɪs təns, ˈlɒŋ- /

adjective

1. of, from, or between distant places.

   a long-distance phone call.

2. for, over, or covering long distances.

   a long-distance runner.

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adverb

1. by long-distance telephone.

   to call someone long-distance.

long-distance British  

noun

1. (modifier) covering relatively long distances

   a long-distance driver

2. (modifier) (of telephone calls, lines, etc) connecting points a relatively long way apart

3. a long-distance telephone call

4. a long-distance telephone system or its operator

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adverb

1. by a long-distance telephone line

   he phoned long-distance

Etymology

Origin of long distance¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Origin of long-distance²

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

He has trained his entire life to be the rarest athlete in the sport: a sprinter who doesn’t lose steam over long distances.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the spinal cord, however, nerve fibers can span long distances, so damage and inflammation can spread well beyond the original injury site.

From Science Daily

Then someone called out to him from a great, long distance.

From Literature

She added that young, male Atlantic walruses were most likely to roam and were capable of travelling very long distances.

From BBC

“And over long distances, it’s more like 20 times.”

From The Wall Street Journal