longest
Definition
- Adverb:
- For the greatest duration of time: Used to indicate that an action or state continues for a more extended period than any other in a comparison.
- To the greatest extent or degree in terms of length or duration: Used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to express the superlative form of 'long'.
Usage Examples
- Adverb:
- Of all the guests, she stayed longest. (This directly compares her duration of stay to others, indicating hers was the greatest.)
- This is the longest I have ever waited for a bus. (Here, 'longest' modifies the implied duration of waiting, forming a superlative comparison with all past waits.)
- Which river flows longest through the country? (This asks for a comparison of the rivers' flow durations within the country.)
Advanced Usage
- "At (the) longest": Used to indicate the maximum possible duration, setting an upper limit.
- The repair will take an hour at the longest. (This means one hour is the absolute maximum time it will take.)
- "Longest-running": This is a compound adjective. It describes something that has continued for a greater period than any other of its kind.
- It is the longest-running show on television. (This is a fixed compound comparing the show's duration to all other shows.)
Variants and Related Words
- Long (adjective/adverb): Of great duration or extent.
- Longer (adjective/adverb): Comparative form of 'long'.
- Length (noun): The measurement of something from end to end; duration.
- Lengthy (adjective): Of considerable or unusual length, often excessively so.
Synonyms
- For the most time: This is a direct synonym for the adverbial sense.
- Most enduringly: Lasting for the greatest period.
- Furthest in time: Extending to the most distant point in time within a set.
Related Phrases
- Last the longest: To endure or remain for a greater time than others.
- In the marathon, the seasoned runners lasted the longest.
- Take the longest: To require the most time to complete.
- This complicated route takes the longest to drive.
Related Idioms
- Go the longest way round: To take the most indirect or time-consuming route.
- If you avoid the highway, you'll go the longest way round.
- The longest day of the year: Refers to the summer solstice, the day with the most daylight hours.
- We celebrate the longest day of the year with a festival.
Adverb
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for the most time
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she stayed longest
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