noun
1 amount of space between two points
ADJECTIVE
▪ considerable , enormous , fair , good , great , huge , large , long , vast
▪
The town is a considerable ~ from the coast.
▪
It's quite a good ~ to the nearest town.
▪
The people travel vast ~s to find food.
▪ short , small
▪ reasonable
▪ certain , given
▪ average , mean
▪
the average ~ covered during pursuits by cheetahs
▪ equal
▪ maximum , minimum
▪ optimal ( AmE ), optimum
▪ correct , right
▪ exact
▪ estimated
▪ full
▪ extra
▪ fixed
▪ varying
▪ infinite
▪ comfortable , discreet , respectful , safe
▪
The cat sat and watched us from a safe ~.
▪ braking ( esp. BrE ), stopping
▪
Allow for greater stopping ~s when pulling a loaded trailer.
▪ geographic ( esp. AmE ), geographical ( esp. BrE ), physical
▪
These immigrants face problems of physical ~.
VERB + DISTANCE
▪ cover , cross , go , move , travel , traverse
▪
He moved a short ~ up the valley.
▪
The spacecraft has the ability to traverse great ~s.
▪
Nobody thought he would last 15 rounds but he went the full ~. ( figurative )
▪ drive , fly , swim , walk , etc.
▪
The young birds were soon flying ~s of 200 feet or more.
▪
She sprinted the entire ~.
▪ bridge , span
▪
The arch spans a ~ of 285 feet.
▪ keep , maintain
▪
I kept a comfortable ~ behind the van.
▪ close , shorten
▪
He was gradually closing the ~ between himself and the other runners.
▪ calculate , determine , measure
▪ estimate , gauge , judge
▪
It is very difficult to judge ~s in the desert.
DISTANCE + NOUN
▪ runner , swimmer
▪
a champion ~ swimmer
▪ running
PREPOSITION
▪ at a ~
▪
She followed them at a discreet ~.
▪ at a ~ from
▪
When launching a kick, it is essential to be at the correct ~ from your opponent.
▪ at a ~ of
▪
The town is situated at a ~ of twenty miles from Porto.
▪ from a ~ (of)
▪
Visitors can only view the painting from a ~ of three yards.
▪ over a ~ (of)
▪
The sound can be heard over a ~ of more than five miles.
▪ within a ~
▪
children living within a certain ~ of the school
▪ ~ away from
▪
The house is a short ~ away from the bus station.
▪ ~ between
▪
What's the ~ between London and Edinburgh?
▪ ~ from
▪ ~ to
▪
the ~ from our house to the school
PHRASES
▪ a … distance ahead, away, apart, etc. , some ~ ahead, away, apart, etc.
▪
The leaders in the race were a considerable ~ ahead.
▪
A bomb exploded some ~ away.
▪ within commuting ~ , within driving ~ , within walking ~
▪
The bars are within walking ~.
▪ within shouting ~ , within spitting ~ , within striking ~ , within touching ~ ( esp. BrE )
▪
The cat was now within striking ~ of the duck.
▪
We came within spitting ~ of winning the cup. ( figurative )
2 point a long way away/being far away
ADJECTIVE
▪ far , middle
▪
I could just see the hills in the far ~.
VERB + DISTANCE
▪ gaze (off) into , look (off) into , stare (off) into
▪ stretch (off) into
▪
The road stretches off into the ~.
DISTANCE + NOUN
▪ education ( AmE ), learning
▪
The college offers a wide range of distance-learning courses.
▪ vision
▪
to have good ~ vision
PREPOSITION
▪ at a ~
▪
At a ~ it is difficult to make out the detail on the building.
▪ from a ~
▪
We admired the palace from a ~.
▪ in the ~
▪
In the ~ was a small town.
3 not being too closely involved
ADJECTIVE
▪ critical , professional
▪ emotional , psychological , social
VERB + DISTANCE
▪ keep , maintain
▪
She was warned to keep her ~ from Jay if she didn't want to get hurt.
▪
Sociologists must maintain critical ~ from the ideas of society at any particular time.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ from
▪
He felt a sense of ~ from the others.
PHRASES
▪ a sense of ~