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• long jump
  long jump

  noun

  a jump for distance from a running start.
• long-jump
  long-jump

  verb (used without object)

  to execute a long jump.

long jump

¹ American  

noun

Track and Field.

1. a jump for distance from a running start.

2. a field event featuring competition in the long jump.

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long-jump ² American  

[lawng-juhmp, long-] / ˈlɔŋˌdʒʌmp, ˈlɒŋ- /

verb (used without object)

1. Track and Field. to execute a long jump.

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long jump British  

noun

1. Former Austral, US, and Canadian equivalent: broad jump.  an athletic contest in which competitors try to cover the farthest distance possible with a running jump from a fixed board or mark

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Usage

What is the long jump? The long jump is a track-and-field competition in which athletes attempt to complete the longest forward jump with a running start and a single leap. The long jump is sometimes also known as the broad jump. An attempt in this event (the jump itself) is also called a long jump. A competitor in the long jump is called a long jumper. Standard long jumps take place on a track with a running lane, a jumping area or takeoff board, and a sand pit to land in. The distance of the jump is measured from the edge of the takeoff board to the landing spot. The two main long jump techniques are the tuck (in which the long jumper pulls their knees upward and then extends them at the last second) and the hitch kick (in which the long jumper continues their running motion after they jump in the air and then brings their feet together and extends them in front of them). The long jump is a track-and-field event in the summer Olympic Games (the Summer Games) and it is also part of the modern decathlon. The long jump should not be confused with the high jump, which is a track-and-field (and decathlon) event in which athletes attempt to complete the highest jump over a crossbar. Like the long jump, the triple jump also begins with a running start, but (as the name implies) involves three jumping motions instead of the single leap used in the long jump. Example: I’m training for the long jump and the high jump with my track-and-field team.

Other Word Forms

• long jumping
  noun

Etymology

Origin of long jump

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Hernandez’s triple jump and long jump scores this weekend were the state’s best marks this season, but behind state records.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

JJ Harel, the defending state champion in the high jump, is also gearing up to score points in the long jump and triple jump.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

She burst on to the international scene at 18 with long jump silver at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, and set a British record on her Olympic debut in Rome in 1960.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

“The men’s long jump record is outrageously long,” Olympic pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw told BBC Radio 5 Live.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2025

We’re in the open, under a warm sun, so it’s probably the sandpit in the Infants’ play area, just possibly it’s the sand at the end of the long jump in the North Playing Field.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro