long-drawn-out
Americanadjective
-
lasting a very long time; protracted.
a long-drawn-out story.
-
of great length; long.
a long-drawn-out line of soldiers.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of long-drawn-out
First recorded in 1900–05
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.
But his long-drawn-out departure was a very Pyrrhic form of statesmanship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Ellisons acquired Paramount for $8 billion in August after a long-drawn-out process that required approval from the Trump administration.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
Plenty of other long-drawn-out union processes, like the first Chipotle restaurant to successfully organize, will be further stymied.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2025
He pledged publicly to stay in Brooklyn and engaged in long-drawn-out talks with New York City officials about building a new ballpark.
From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2022
The preceding paragraph gave examples of blueprint copying, whereas the transfer of Chinese porcelain technology to Europe provides an instance of long-drawn-out idea diffusion.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
