long haul

noun

plural long hauls

1

: a long distance

New England ski areas are a long haul—12 to 15 hours by car—for Pittsburgh area skiers.

—Lawrence Walsh

The existing system of alternating-current (AC) power lines is not robust enough to carry power from these centers to consumers everywhere and would lose too much energy over long hauls.

—Ken Zweibel et al.

2

: a considerable period of time : long run

—usually used in the phrases for the long haul, over the long haul, and in the long haul

Honest, open and relaxed, they are clearly a couple planning for the long haul.

—Tom Seligson

Over the long haul, though, ecosystems can sequester significant amounts of carbon.

—Sid Perkins

Treasury bills pay next to nothing in real terms over the long haul.

—Richard C. Morais

A good stock will have its bad days, weeks, and even years, but in the long haul, its performance will closely match the performance of the business.

—Alex Dumortier

long-haul

ˈlȯŋ-ˌhȯl 

adjective

long-haul truckers

Boeing has configured the long-haul Dreamliner with eight seats across in the coach section, with an option for nine.

—Bill Saporito

see also long-hauler

Synonyms

• mile

Examples of long haul in a Sentence

Driving across the country would be a long haul.

growing up in suburban New England, I used to think the 10 miles between our house and the mall was a long haul

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the long haul, however, SpaceX plans to rely on an even bigger and more powerful Starship — one that stands a whopping 466 feet (142 m) tall and sports 42 Raptors instead of the current 39. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025

This means his incentives are not just tied to hitting highly ambitious targets, but also to ensuring those results are sustained over the long haul. —Shane Goodwin, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2025

And even if the Chargers manage to steal the division from the Chiefs for a season, someone like Oweh also represents a mission to maintain the charge for the long haul. —Zak Keefer, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025

Jonathan Scott and Zooey Deschanel were in it for the long haul from the very beginning. —Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for long haul

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

long haul

noun

1

: a long distance

2

: a long period of time

long-haul adjective