I. re ‧ mote 1 W3 /rɪˈməʊt $ -ˈmoʊt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of removere ; ⇨ ↑ remove ]
1 . FAR AWAY far from towns or other places where people live SYN isolated :
a remote border town
a fire in a remote mountain area
2 . NOT LIKELY if a chance or possibility of something happening is remote, it is not very likely to happen SYN slight
remote chance/possibility
There’s a remote chance that you can catch him before he leaves.
The prospect of peace seems remote.
3 . TIME far away in time SYN distant :
the remote time when dinosaurs walked the earth
a remote ancestor (=someone related to you, who lived a long time ago)
4 . DIFFERENT very different from something
remote from
The Heights was quiet and clean and remote from the busy daily life of the city.
5 . PERSON unfriendly, and not interested in people SYN distant :
His father was a remote, quiet man.
6 . not have the remotest idea/interest/intention etc especially British English used to emphasize that you do not know something, are not interested in something, do not intend to do something etc:
He hasn’t the remotest interest in sport.
not have the remotest idea/interest/intention etc what/where/who etc
I haven’t the remotest idea what you mean.
—remoteness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ far adverb a long distance – used mainly in negatives and questions, or after ‘too’, ‘so’, and ‘as’:
It’s not far to the airport from here.
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Have you driven far?
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The ship was so far away we could hardly see it.
▪ a long way adverb a long distance from somewhere. This is the most common way of talking about long distances, except in negatives and questions when far is also common:
You must be tired – you’ve come a long way.
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It’s a long way down from the top of the cliff.
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I can’t see things that are a long way away.
▪ miles adverb informal a very long way:
We hiked miles.
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The school is miles away from where I live.
▪ in the distance adverb a long way from where you are now – used when talking about things that seem small or sounds that seem quiet because they are a long way away:
Dogs were barking somewhere in the distance.
▪ distant adjective especially written used about something that is a long distance from where you are now, and looks small or sounds quiet:
By now, the plane was just a distant speck in the sky.
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the rumble of distant thunder
▪ faraway adjective especially written a very long distance from where you are now:
a traveller from a faraway land
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His voice sounded faraway.
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He told us stories about the faraway countries he had visited.
▪ remote adjective a remote place is a long distance from other places, and few people go there:
The helicopter crashed in a remote part of the country.
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remote holiday destinations
▪ isolated adjective an isolated place is a long distance from other towns, buildings, or people, and there is very little communication with surrounding places:
isolated rural areas of Nepal
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Occasionally we passed through a small isolated village.
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If you travel to isolated areas, make sure you have a good guide.
▪ off the beaten track ( also off the beaten path American English ) adverb a place that is off the beaten track is a long distance from the places where people usually go, and often seems interesting and different because of this:
She likes to go to places that are a bit off the beaten track.
II. remote 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
a ↑ remote control :
Give me the remote.