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.
However, a long-lasting blockage of the Strait of Hormuz could have a more profound impact on global food prices.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
“I believe the situation in the Middle East will have meaningful and long-lasting implications for the global energy sector,” Miller said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
Large, long-lasting storms developed just west of Interstate 95.
From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026
But another major water source for Southern California, the Colorado River, also has been affected by a long-lasting megadrought that began in 2000.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
“It’s outlandish that our arbitrary choice of cutoff dates is causing these long-lasting effects, and no one seems to care about them.”
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
