Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   Dis·tance

   /ˈdist(ə)ns/

   

   noun

   • 1. an amount of space between two things or people: "I bicycled the short distance home" Similar intervalspacespangapseparationinterspacestretchextentlengthwidthbreadthdepthrangereach
   • ▪ the condition of being far off; remoteness: "distance makes things look small" Similar remotenessfarnesscloseness
   • ▪ a far-off point or place: "watching them from a distance"
   • ▪ the more remote part of what is visible or discernible: "I heard police sirens in the distance"
   • ▪ an interval of time: "a distance of more than twenty years"
   • 2. the full length of a race: "he claimed the 10,000 meter title in only his second race over the distance"
   • ▪ the distance from the winning post which a horse must have reached when the winner finishes in order to qualify for a subsequent heat. North American
   • ▪ the scheduled length of a fight: "he has won his first five fights inside the distance"
   • 3. the avoidance of familiarity; aloofness or reserve: "a mix of warmth and distance makes a good neighbor" Similar aloofnessremotenessdetachmentstand-offishnessunfriendlinesshaughtinesshauteurcoolnesscoldnessfrigidityreservereticencerestraintstiffnessformalityunresponsivenessOpposite friendliness

   verb

   • 1. make (someone or something) far off or remote in position or nature: "her mother wished to distance her from the rough village children"
   • ▪ declare that one is not connected with or a supporter of (someone or something): "he sought to distance himself from the proposals"
   • ▪ beat (a horse) by a distance.

   Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘discord, debate’): from Old French or from Latin distantia, from distant- ‘standing apart’, from the verb distare (see distant).

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • D

     2

   • I

     1

   • S

     1

   • T

     1

   • A

     1

   • N

     1

   • C

     3

   • E

     1

   Powered by Oxford Languages

   More Definitions, Word Origin & ScrabbleShow less