how long

adj, adv — 3 senses

how long

adj

1

Used literally: what length.

How long is that piece of string?
I don't know how long the Amazon River is.

2

Used literally: what duration.

How long are you here for? ~ Until the end of next month.
How long have you already been here (for)? ~ Since last Friday

2 more examples

How long is it to lunch?
How long ago did you stop playing tennis?

Derived terms: How long is a piece of string?

how long

adv

1

Used literally: for what duration.

How long have you lived in Chicago?
He won't tell me how long he is going to stay.

1 more example

How long I slept I cannot tell, for I had nothing to guide me to the time, but woke at length, and found myself still in darkness.[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.