• Along

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /əˈlÉ’Å‹/
    • US IPA: /əˈlɔŋ/
    • US IPA: /əˈlÉ‘Å‹/
    • Hyphenation: a + long

    Origin

    From Middle English, from Old English andlang from prefix and- + lang ("long").

    Full definition of along

    Preposition

    1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.
      • They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor
      • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 3, My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
      • 2013, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, Stents to Prevent Stroke, As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
    2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.
      • Bible, 1 Samuel vi. 12The kine...went along the highway.
      • In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
      • Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.
      • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 13, We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from the prepositional sense of along

    Adverb

    along

    1. In company; together.
      I am going to the store. Do you want to come along?
    2. Onward, forward, with progressive action.
      • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 1, I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
    3. Don't stop here. Just move along.

    Synonyms

    Anagrams

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