duration

noun

du·​ra·​tion du̇-ˈrā-shən 

also dyu̇-

1

: continuance in time

gradually increase the duration of your workout

2

: the time during which something exists or lasts

were there for the duration of the concert

Synonyms of duration

• time
• lifespan
• lifetime
• life
• continuance
• date

Examples of duration in a Sentence

You should gradually increase the duration of your workout.

for the whole duration of the speech the bored audience fidgeted

Recent Examples on the Web

Kansas City has been perched atop the ECHL standings nearly the entire season, a campaign in which the Mavericks have rattled off not one but two winning streaks of double-digit duration (12 and 14 games). —The Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2026

Royal’s standing instruction to Thrivent’s 2,500 advisors is to make sure clients get rebalanced, depending on their goals—taking equity gains off the table and rotating into duration, because that is the technically correct move after a multiyear rally, not a further chase into risk. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026

Its duration favors the studios by staving off another renegotiation and potential work stoppage until 2030. —Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026

The photographs also offer a glimpse to what life is like aboard Orion, the 11 feet high and 16 1/2 feet wide spacecraft that is their home throughout the duration of the mission. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see durance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing duration

• for the duration

Rhymes for duration

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation

Kids Definition

duration

noun

du·​ra·​tion d(y)u̇-ˈrā-shən 

: the time during which something exists or lasts