📒 the amount of space between two places or things
- a short/long distance
- Paul has to drive very long distances as part of his job.
- a distance of something to travel/cover a distance of 200 kilometres
📒 being far away in space or in time
- Distance is no problem on the internet.
- They don't see their family because of geographical distance.
- distance between A and B The car put physical distance between people and their places of work.
📒 a point that is a particular amount of space away from something else
- from a distance You'll never get the ball in from that distance.
- The cat sat and watched us from a safe distance.
- from a distance Visitors can only view the painting from a distance of three metres.
📒 a difference or lack of a connection between two things
- distance between A and B The distance between fashion and art remains as great as ever.
- The government is keen to put some distance between itself and these events (= show that there is no connection between them).
- distance from something Sociologists must maintain critical distance from the ideas of society at any particular time.
📒 a situation in which there is a lack of friendly feelings or of a close relationship between two people or groups of people
- The coldness and distance in her voice took me by surprise.
- distance between A and B There was a growing distance between the two sides of the family.
- He worried about the increasing distance between his children and himself.
📒 from a place or time that is not near; from far away
- She had loved him at a distance for years.
- At a distance it is difficult to make out the detail on the building.
- We admired the palace from a distance.
📒 to continue playing in a competition or sports contest until the end
- Nobody thought he would last 15 rounds, but he went the full distance.
📒 far away but still able to be seen or heard
- We saw lights in the distance.
- Alice stood staring into the distance.
- Five miles of sand stretched away into the distance.
📒 to refuse to be friendly with somebody; to not let somebody be friendly towards you
- The manager prefers to keep employees at a distance.
📒 to make sure you are not too near somebody/something
📒 to avoid getting too friendly or involved with a person, group, etc.
- She was warned to keep her distance from Charles if she didn't want to get hurt.
📒 very close
- We came within touching distance of winning the cup.
- We live within spitting distance of the bus station.