/ fɑː(r); NAmE / adverb , adjective
■ adverb
( far·ther , far·thest or fur·ther , fur·thest )
DISTANCE
1.
far (from, away, below, etc.) a long distance away :
We didn't go far.
Have you come far?
It's not far to the beach.
There's not far to go now.
The restaurant is not far from here.
countries as far apart as Japan and Brazil
He looked down at the traffic far below.
Far away in the distance, a train whistled.
The farther north they went, the colder it became.
a concert of music from near and far
HELP NOTE : In positive sentences it is more usual to use a long way :
We went a long way.
We went far.
The restaurant is a long way from here.
2.
used when you are asking or talking about the distance between two places or the distance that has been travelled or is to be travelled :
How far is it to your house from here?
How much further is it?
We'll go by train as far as London, and then take a bus.
We didn't go as far as the others.
I'm not sure I can walk so far .
TIME
3.
far (back / ahead) | far (into sth) a long time from the present; for a large part of a particular period of time :
The band made their first record as far back as 1990.
Let's try to plan further ahead.
We worked far into the night.
DEGREE
4.
very much; to a great degree :
That's a far better idea.
There are far more opportunities for young people than there used to be.
It had been a success far beyond their expectations.
He's fallen far behind in his work.
She always gives us far too much homework.
5.
used when you are asking or talking about the degree to which sth is true or possible :
How far can we trust him?
His parents supported him as far as they could.
Plan your route in advance, using main roads as far as possible .
PROGRESS
6.
used to talk about how much progress has been made in doing or achieving sth :
How far have you got with that report?
I read as far as the third chapter.
➡ note at farther
•
IDIOMS
- as far as the eye can / could see
- as far as I know | as far as I can remember, see, tell, etc.
- as / so far as I am concerned
- as / so far as sb/sth is concerned | as / so far as sb/sth goes
- as / so far as it goes
- by far
- carry / take sth too far
- far and away
- far and wide
- far be it from me to do sth (but ... )
- far from sth / from doing sth
- far from it
- go far
- go far enough
- go so / as far as to ...
- go too far | go this / that far
- in so / as far as
- not far off / out / wrong
- not go far
- so far | thus far
- so far
- so far, so good
—more at afield , few adjective , near adverb
■ adjective
( far·ther , far·thest or fur·ther , fur·thest ) [ only before noun ]
DISTANT
1.
at a greater distance away from you :
I saw her on the far side of the road.
at the far end of the room
They made for an empty table in the far corner .
2.
at the furthest point in a particular direction :
the far north of Scotland
Who is that on the far left of the photograph?
She is on the far right of the party (= holds extreme right-wing political views) .
3.
( old-fashioned or literary ) a long distance away :
a far country
•
IDIOMS
- a far cry from sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English feorr , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ver , from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit para and Greek pera further.