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.
“In many states, spouses have a legal obligation to support each other. If one spouse needs long-term nursing home care the assets of the other may be used to pay bills,” it adds.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Mayhew is calling for an urgent meeting with British Sugar, which he said told him that the firm had been loss-making for the past three years as demand for sugar is on a long-term decline.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The company also said Tuesday that it entered long-term lease agreements to add four 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters to its cargo fleet, which are expected to enter service in the first half of next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
They also suggest that the Moon has preserved hidden evidence of these ancient interactions, giving researchers a new way to investigate the long-term history of Earth's magnetic environment.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Obviously, that is no more than an average long-term trend, with innumerable shifts in either direction: 1,000 amalgamations for 999 reversals.
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.
