~ 1
■ adjective ( ~er , ~est )
1》 of a great distance or duration.
↘of a specified distance or duration.
↘(of a ball in sport) travelling a great distance, or further than expected.
2》 relatively great in extent.
↘having a specified extent.
3》 Phonetics (of a vowel) categorized as ~ with regard to quality and length (e.g. in standard British English the vowel u: in food ).
↘ Prosody (of a vowel or syllable) having the greater of the two recognized durations.
4》 (of odds or a chance) reflecting or representing a low level of probability.
5》 Finance (of shares or other assets) bought in advance, with the expectation of a rise in price.
↘(of a security) maturing at a distant date.
6》 (of a drink) large, refreshing, and containing little or no alcohol.
7》 ( ~ on ) informal well supplied with.
■ noun
1》 a ~ time.
2》 a ~ sound, vowel, or syllable.
3》 ( ~s ) Finance ~ securities or assets.
■ adverb ( ~er ; ~est )
1》 for a ~ time.
↘at a distant time: ~ ago.
↘throughout a specified period of time: all day ~.
2》 (with reference to the ball in sport) at, to, or over a great distance.
Phrases
as (or so ) ~ as
1》 during the whole time that.
2》 provided that.
be ~ take a ~ time.
in the ~ run (or term ) eventually.
the ~ and the short of it all that can or need be said.
~ in the tooth rather old. [orig. said of horses, from the recession of the gums with age.]
Derivatives
~ish adjective
Origin
OE lang , ~ (adjective), lange , ~e (adverb), of Gmc origin.
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~ 2
■ verb ( ~ for/to do ) have a strong wish for or to do.
Origin
OE langian 'grow ~', also 'yearn', of Gmc origin.