long-term
Americanadjective
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covering a relatively long period of time.
a long-term lease.
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maturing over or after a relatively long period of time.
a long-term loan; a long-term bond.
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(of a capital gain or loss) derived from the sale or exchange of an asset held for more than a specified time, as six months or one year.
adjective
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lasting, staying, or extending over a long time
long-term prospects
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finance maturing after a long period of time
a long-term bond
Etymology
Origin of long-term
First recorded in 1905–10
Explanation
Something that's long-term has lasted for quite a while. If you have a long-term girlfriend, she's been in your life for years. Use the adjective long-term to describe things that are so enduring that they're nearly permanent. Someone who's a long-term resident of Canada has lived there for a very long time, and news of long-term unemployment is discouraging because it means people have been out of work for months and months. Long-term was originally a word describing only insurance policies, in the 1870's.
Vocabulary lists containing long-term
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.
The early melt fits a long-term pattern as greenhouse gases push temperatures higher.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Overall, “we see this as a modest positive for long-term strategic optionality, with no near-term impact on estimates absent a subsequent FDA decision that actually adds substances to an allowable compounding pathway,” BofA analysts wrote.
From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026
Clearwater looks to provide long-term, fixed-rate capital for C-PACE improvements on properties across 40 states and the District of Columbia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Roo's vitamin D levels took about a year to return to the safe range, and Carys said the long-term effects are still not clear.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
As it turned out, their relatives had correctly predicted their fate: their age gap would lead to long-term problems in their marriage.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
