What this suffix does
-long means "lasting the entire ___": lifelong, daylong, yearlong. Fairly productive: almost any time word can combine with it.
ESEN
Suffix · forms adjectives
-long
Means "lasting the entire ___": lifelong (lasting a lifetime) and daylong (lasting all day).
In Spanish: de toda una / durante todo unIntermediate
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
How it is formed
Time word + long.
- life + longlifelong (lasting a lifetime)
- day + longdaylong (lasting all day)
- year + longyearlong (lasting all year)
Fairly productive: almost any time word can combine with -long.
How it is pronounced
-long
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Examples
Base word
With -long
In a phrase
- lifelifelongThey've been lifelong friends since kindergarten.
- daydaylongWe went on a daylong hike through the forest.
- yearyearlongShe's on a yearlong exchange program in Spain.
- nightnightlongThe party turned into a nightlong celebration.
- weekweeklongThey're on a weeklong vacation in the mountains.
Common mistakes
lifelong vs lifetime (interchangeable)
lifelong is an adjective; lifetime can be a noun or adjective
"Lifelong" is always an adjective preceding a noun: a lifelong dream, a lifelong friend. "Lifetime" can be a noun ("in my lifetime") or a modifier ("a lifetime supply"). You cannot say "a lifetime dream" or "a lifelong supply" — the usage is different for each word.
hourlong (always one word)
hour-long (hyphenated) is more standard
With smaller time units (hour, minute), hyphenation is more common: hour-long, two-hour-long. With larger units, both solid and hyphenated forms exist: daylong / day-long, yearlong / year-long. "Lifelong" is almost always written as one solid word.
A trick to remember it
"-long" = stretched across that entire time. Picture a time word stretched like gum: life-LONG = stretched across your WHOLE life, start to finish.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"A yearlong investigation uncovered widespread fraud." What does "yearlong" tell us?
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Frequently asked questions
What does the suffix -long mean in English?
The suffix -long means "lasting the entire ___": lifelong (lasting a lifetime) and daylong (lasting all day). In Spanish it usually maps to de toda una / durante todo un.
Can you give an example of a word with -long?
"life" becomes "lifelong". It is a typical example of the -long suffix.
Other useful suffixes
-time
Forms compounds naming periods, moments, or eras with a distinct identity: lifetime, peacetime, wartime, pastime, overtime, daytime, nighttime, bedtime.
-ward / -wards
Turns a direction word into a direction adverb/adjective: inward, outward, forward. Works with almost any direction word, it is productive.
-wide
Forms adjectives and adverbs meaning "extending throughout, covering the whole of": nationwide, worldwide, citywide, statewide, industry-wide.
Learn every English suffix
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.