long-distance
long-distance — adjective
1. involving travel or communication between places that are far from each other, o
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.
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.
Joaquín and his fiancée have kept their long-distance relationship going for two years.
Niran the long-distance runner prepared for the Chicago marathon by running twelve miles daily.
Long-distance truck drivers often sleep at rest stops along the highway.
- local
nearby or within a short distance ('a local bus')
- short-haul
covering a short distance ('a short-haul flight')
文法句型
long-distance + noun
用法筆記
Frequently used before nouns that refer to travel, communication, or relationships: bus, flight, train, call, relationship, runner, race, service.
常見錯誤
long-distance — adverb
1. across great physical space, as when communicating with, working for, or keeping
across great physical space, as when communicating with, working for, or keeping in touch with someone in another city or country.
Caio and Linh communicate long-distance through weekly video chats.
verb + long-distance (communicate/work/date) — adverb modifying verb
Nia works long-distance from her home office in Tainan.
Rachid and his wife dated long-distance for three years before she moved to Berlin.
The two teams competed long-distance, each playing from their own city.
文法句型
verb + long-distance
用法筆記
Common with verbs of communication (talk, communicate), work (work, operate), and relationships (date). Unlike the adjective form, the adverb does NOT go before a noun — it modifies the verb instead.
常見錯誤
long-distance — noun
1. a telephone service that connects people in different cities or countries, used
a telephone service that connects people in different cities or countries, used for making calls or paying for the connection.
Selim called the long-distance service to ask about cheaper evening rates for calls to Morocco.
noun phrase: 'call the long-distance service' — refers to a telephone service
Lan used the long-distance to call her uncle in Vancouver on his sixtieth birthday.
When Rachid called his parents in Casablanca, the long-distance charged nearly a dollar per minute.
Shanti checked her long-distance bill and saw that three calls to Nairobi were on the list.
- long-distance service
more explicit and formal
- trunk call
British term, now dated
- local call
a call within the same local area
文法句型
the long-distance
call the long-distance
用法筆記
This sense is becoming less common with the rise of mobile phones and internet calling. In modern English, the adjective form (e.g. 'a long-distance call') or the adverb form (e.g. 'call long-distance') is more frequent.
2. a person or telephone exchange that handles calls between different cities or co
a person or telephone exchange that handles calls between different cities or countries, common in older phone systems where a human operator connected the call.
Christopher asked the long-distance to connect him to the London branch as soon as the line was free.
noun phrase: 'ask the long-distance' — referring to the operator or exchange
The long-distance operator helped us find a number in Berlin.
Otis spoke to the long-distance operator because the line kept breaking up during his call to Seoul.
The long-distance operator connected our call to a hospital in Mumbai within two minutes.
- telephone operator
standard modern term for a person who connects calls
- switchboard
the equipment used to route calls manually
文法句型
the long-distance
ask the long-distance
用法筆記
This sense is historical and rarely used today, since automated dialling has replaced human operators. Learners are more likely to encounter this in old films, books, or historical contexts.