1. The extent of space between two objects or places; an intervening space.
2. The fact or condition of being apart in space; remoteness.
3. Mathematics The length or numerical value of a straight line or curve.
4.
a. The extent of space between points on a measured course.
b. The length of a race, especially of a horserace.
5.
a. A point or area that is far away: "Telephone poles stretched way into a distance I couldn't quite see"(Leigh Allison Wilson).
b. A depiction of a such a point or area.
6. A stretch of space without designation of limit; an expanse: a land of few hills and great distances.
7. The extent of time between two events; an intervening period.
8. A point removed in time: At a distance of 11 years, his memory of the crime was blurry.
9. The full period or length of a contest or game: The challenger had never attempted the distance of 12 rounds.
10. An amount of progress: The curriculum committee is a distance from where it was last month.
11. Difference or disagreement: The candidates could not be at a greater distance on this issue.
12. Emotional separateness or reserve; aloofness.
tr.v.dis·tanced, dis·tanc·ing, dis·tanc·es
1. To place or keep at or as if at a distance: "monks who had distanced themselves from the official ecclesiastical hierarchy by resurrecting the ascetic traditions of the early Church Fathers"(Rosamund Bartlett).
1. the extent or amount of space between two things, points, lines, etc.
2. the state or fact of being apart in space, as of one thing from another; remoteness.
3. a linear extent of space: to walk a distance.
4. an expanse; area: A vast distance of water surrounded the ship.
5. the interval between two points of time; an extent of time.
6. remoteness or difference in any respect.
7. an amount of progress: We've come a long distance on the project.
8. a distant point, place, or region.
9. the distant part of a field of view: a tree in the distance.
10. absence of warmth; reserve; coolness.
11. (in a heat race) the space measured back from the winning post that a horse must reach by the time the winner passes the winning post or be eliminated from subsequent heats.
v.t.
12. to leave behind at a distance, as at a race; surpass.
13. to place at a distance.
14. to cause to appear distant.
Idioms:
go the distance,
a. (in horse racing) to run well in a long race.
b. to complete something that requires sustained effort.
[1250–1300; Middle English destaunce < Anglo-French < Latin distantia <distant- (see distant)]
1. The space between adjacent individual ships or boats measured in any direction between foremasts. 2. The space between adjacent men, animals, vehicles, or units in a formation measured from front to rear. 3. The space between known reference points or a ground observer and a target, measured in meters (artillery), in yards (naval gunfire), or in units specified by the observer. See also interval.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
the fixing of the position of an object by transmitting a signal and measuring the time required for it to bounce back, typically done by radar or sonar.
1. an instrument for measuring the distance of objects from the observer, as the range finder in artillery. 2. an electronic device for taking readings from other distant instruments.
elevation - distance of something above a reference point (such as sea level); "there was snow at the higher elevations"
hour angle - the angular distance along the celestial equator from the observer's meridian to the hour circle of a given celestial body
2.
distance - a distant region; "I could see it in the distance"
region, part - the extended spatial location of something; "the farming regions of France"; "religions in all parts of the world"; "regions of outer space"
3.
distance - size of the gap between two places; "the distance from New York to Chicago"; "he determined the length of the shortest line segment joining the two points"
leg - (nautical) the distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack
size - the physical magnitude of something (how big it is); "a wolf is about the size of a large dog"
arm's length - a distance sufficient to exclude intimacy
gauge - the distance between the rails of a railway or between the wheels of a train
light time - distance measured in terms of the speed of light (or radio waves); "the light time from Jupiter to the sun is approximately 43 minutes"
skip distance - the shortest distance that permits radio signals (of a given frequency) to travel from the transmitter to the receiver by reflection from the ionosphere
wingspan, wingspread - linear distance between the extremities of an airfoil
wingspread - distance between the tips of the wings (as of a bird or insect) when fully extended
altitude - the perpendicular distance from the base of a geometric figure to the opposite vertex (or side if parallel)
4.
distance - indifference by personal withdrawal; "emotional distance"
distance - a remote point in time; "if that happens it will be at some distance in the future"; "at a distance of ten years he had forgotten many of the details"
point in time, point - an instant of time; "at that point I had to leave"
Verb
1.
distance - keep at a distance; "we have to distance ourselves from these events in order to continue living"
hold, keep, maintain - keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes"
2.
distance - go far ahead of; "He outdistanced the other runners"
distance yourself from something or someonedisown, reject, separate yourself from, wash your hands of, dissociate yourself fromThe author distanced himself from some comments in his book.
Quotations "'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view" [Thomas Campbell Pleasures of Hope] "Distance has the same effect on the mind as on the eye" [Dr. Johnson Rasselas]
1. the space between things, places etc. Some of the children have to walk long distances to school; It's quite a distance to the bus stop; It is difficult to judge distance when driving at night; What's the distance from here to London? afstand, distansie مَسافَه разстояние distância vzdálenost die Entfernung distance; afstand απόστασηdistancia vahemaa فاصله؛ مسافت etäisyys distanceמרחק दूरी razmak, udaljenost táv(olság) jarak fjarlægð distanza 距離 거리 atstumas, nuotolis attālums; atstatums jarak afstandavstand, strekning, distanseodległość واټن، فاصله، ليرې ځاې مخالفت، موړه، تفوق، سړه وضع distância distanţă расстояние vzdialenosť razdalja udaljenost sträcka, avstånd, distans ระยะห่าง mesafe, uzaklık 距離 відстань; дистанція دوری، دو اشیا کے درمیان کا فاصلہ khoảng cách 距离
2. a far-off place or point. We could see the town in the distance; He disappeared into the distance; The picture looks better at a distance. op 'n afstand على بُعد، مَكان بَعيد дистанция distância dálka entfernt i det fjerne; på afstand στο βάθος, σε ή από μακρινή απόσταση distancia, a lo lejos kaugus نقطه یا جای دور kaukainen kohde lointainרחוק सुदूर स्थान udaljenost messzeség, távolság kejauhan fjarski lontananza 遠方 원거리 toluma, tolis tāliene; tālums kejauhan verte det fjerne, punkt langt borte, avstanddal, oddalenie ليرې ځاې distância depărtare даль diaľka daljava daljina fjärran, avstånd, håll จุดหรือบริเวณที่อยู่ไกล uzak bir yer/nokta 遠處 віддаль; далечінь دور دراز جگہ khoảng cách xa 远处
ˈdistant adjective
1. far away or far apart, in place or time. the distant past; a distant country; Our house is quite distant from the school. afstand, distansie بَعيد، قاصٍ، ناءٍ далечен distante vzdálený entfernt fjern; langt fra μακρινόςdistante, alejado, lejos kauge دور؛ دوردست kaukainen éloignéרחוק सुदूर udaljen távol(i) jauh í tiltekinni fjarlægð; fjarlægur lontano 遠い 먼 tolimas, nutolęs tāls; attāls jauh ver, verafgelegen fjern, langt fra hverandre/mellom; fraodległy ليرې، تو پير لرونكى، سوړ (غير صميمى) distante îndepărtat далёкий vzdialený oddaljen dalek avlägsen, fjärran, långt bort ห่างไกล uzak, uzakta (指地方或時間)遙遠的 віддалений; далекий زمانی یا مکانی لحاظ سے دور xa trong không gian hay thời gian (时间或空间)遥远的
2. not close. a distant relation. veraf ذو قرابَةٍ بَعيدَه далечен distante vzdálený zurückhaltend fjern μακρινόςdistante kauge دور etäinen éloignéרחוק दूरस्थ dalek, otuđen távol(i) jauh fjarskyldur distante, a distanza 遠縁の (관계가) 먼 tolimas attāls renggang verfjerndaleki لیړی distante îndepărtat дальний vzdialený daljnji dalek avlägsen ไกล uzak, yakın akrabası olmayan 疏遠的 далекий دور کا عزیز không gần gũi 疏远的
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