Collins English-English Dictionary

length [lεŋkθ]

1. 1. n the linear extent or measurement of something from end to end, usually being the longest dimension or, for something fixed, the longest horizontal dimension

2. 2. n the extent of something from beginning to end, measured in some more or less regular units or intervals

   the book was 600 pages in length

3. 3. n a specified distance, esp between two positions or locations

   the length of a race

4. 4. n a period of time, as between specified limits or moments

5. 5. n something of a specified, average, or known size or extent measured in one dimension, often used as a unit of measurement

   a length of cloth

6. 6. n a piece or section of something narrow and long

   a length of tubing

7. 7. n the quality, state, or fact of being long rather than short

8. 8. n [usually plural] the amount of trouble taken in pursuing or achieving something (esp in the phrase to great lengths)

9. 9. n [often plural] the extreme or limit of action (in phrases such as to any length(s), to what length(s) would someone go, etc)

10. 10. n [prosody] [phonetics] the metrical quantity or temporal duration of a vowel or syllable

11. 11. n the distance from one end of a rectangular swimming bath to the other - Compare width

12. 12. n [prosody] the quality of a vowel, whether stressed or unstressed, that distinguishes it from another vowel of similar articulatory characteristics. Thus (i:) in English beat is of greater length than (I) in English bit

13. 13. n [cricket] the distance from the batsman at which the ball pitches

14. 14. n [bridge] a holding of four or more cards in a suit

15. 15. n [NZ] [informal] the general idea; the main purpose

16. 16. n [Etymology] Old English lengthu; related to Middle Dutch lengede, Old Norse lengd