long-distance

long-distance — adjective

1. involving travel or communication between places that are far from each other, o

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

involving travel or communication between places that are far from each other, or describing people or things that are far apart — for example, a bus that travels between two faraway cities, or partners who live in different cities.

Example

Owen took a long-distance bus from Kaohsiung to Taipei last night.

long-distance + noun (bus/call/relationship) — attributive pattern

Mark called his aunt in Brazil on a long-distance line to wish her a happy birthday.

Common collocations
  • long-distance bus
  • long-distance call
  • long-distance relationship
  • long-distance runner
  • long-distance truck driver
  • long-distance flight
  • long-distance train
Synonyms
  • faraway

    more poetic/emotional, often used for exotic or dreamy places ('a faraway land')

  • remote

    suggests isolation and difficulty to access ('a remote village')

  • distant

    broader in use, can be physical or metaphorical ('a distant memory')

Antonyms
  • local

    nearby or within a short distance ('a local bus')

  • short-haul

    covering a short distance ('a short-haul flight')

Grammar Patterns

long-distance + noun

Usage Note

Frequently used before nouns that refer to travel, communication, or relationships: bus, flight, train, call, relationship, runner, race, service.

Common Mistakes

I took a long-distance to the next city.
I took a long-distance bus to the next city.
as an adjective, 'long-distance' must be followed by a noun it describes.

long-distance — adverb

long-distance — noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe physical separation, but they differ in focus and feel. 'Long-distance' is the most practical and factual — it describes the measurable space between two points, especially in travel, communication, or relationships ('a long-distance flight', 'a long-distance relationship'). 'Faraway' has a warmer, more emotional or storybook tone, often used for exotic or dreamy locations ('a faraway island', 'faraway lands'). 'Remote' emphasises isolation and difficulty of access ('a remote mountain village'), often carrying a sense of being cut off. 'Distant' is the broadest and can be used for time, emotions, or family relations ('a distant cousin', 'a distant memory'). For practical learner use: choose 'long-distance' when talking about travel logistics or relationships that span cities or countries, 'faraway' for places that feel romantic or unreachable, 'remote' for places that are hard to get to, and 'distant' for looser, more general references to space or time.

long-distance ↗faraway ↗remote ↗distant ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • truly long-distance
  • strictly long-distance

Phrases

  • long-distance call
  • long-distance relationship
  • long-distance runner
  • long-distance bus
  • long-distance flight

Prepositions

  • for long-distance
  • over long-distance

Etymology

Old EnglishLatinEnglish

A compound formed in English from 'long' (from Old English 'lang', meaning 'extending far') and 'distance' (from Latin 'distantia', from 'distare' meaning 'to stand apart'). The word first appeared in the mid-19th century, used for railways and telegraph lines that covered great distances, and became widespread with the expansion of long-distance telephone services in the early 1900s.