decades-long

adjective

de·​cades-long ˈde-ˌkādz-ˌlȯŋ How to pronounce decades-long (audio)
variants or less commonly decadeslong
: lasting two or more decades : occurring over a period of two or more decades
a decades-long career
… no discussion of wolf research would be complete without mention of this fascinating, decades-long study.Robert R. Ream
His decades-long accumulation of books makes an eclectic mix …Stephen Mihm

Examples of decades-long in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This will be the last year the ceremony airs on CBS, ending a decades-long partnership as the show will move to Disney next year. Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026 While Saintremy’s suspension has sparked backlash, her situation underscores a deeper, decades-long pattern of instability at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, according to former directors and community members in Little Haiti. Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026 Almost every gallery and store had wheelchair entry, retrofitted into eighteenth-century infrastructure in ways that would trigger decades-long preservation battles back in the UK. Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026 This is in line with a decades-long trend of business processes working with increasingly sophisticated computation, with important differences. Bipul Sinha, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for decades-long

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of decades-long was in 1930

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Cite this Entry

“Decades-long.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decades-long. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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