long-lasting
Americanadjective
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enduring or existing for a long period of time.
a long-lasting friendship.
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effective for a relatively long period of time.
a long-lasting pain reliever.
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resisting the effects of wear or use over a long period.
a long-lasting fabric used for work clothes.
Etymology
Origin of long-lasting
First recorded in 1520–30
Explanation
Long-lasting things stick around for a while. If the medicine you're taking for your sore throat has long-lasting side effects, they'll affect you for many weeks or even months. A long-lasting relationship lasts for years, and long-lasting makeup stays on your face all day, until you wash it off at night. This adjective can mean that something is durable or resilient, or in other words that it holds up over time. Other things are simply long-lasting by coincidence — they've just been there for a long time.
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.
A refrigerator, for example, is among those durable, or long-lasting, products.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
However, rate-setters signaled that they would respond if the pickup in inflation threatened to become long-lasting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
That limitation has made it difficult to achieve both strong interaction with phonons and long-lasting quantum memory in the same device.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
All of this has collectively helped the state’s electrical system weather this year’s long-lasting heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Since the chlorinated hydrocarbons are persistent and long-lasting, each application is merely added to the quantity remaining from the previous one.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
