far

adverb \ ˈfär \

Updated on: 13 Oct 2017

Definition of far

farther play \ˈfär-t͟hər\ or further play \ˈfər-t͟hər\; farthest or furthest play \ˈfər-t͟həst\

1 :at or to a considerable distance in space

wandered far from home

2 a :to a great extent :much

far better methods

b :by a broad interval :widely

the far distant future

3 :to or at a definite distance, point, or degree

as far as I know

4 :to an advanced point or extent

a bright student will go far

worked far into the night

5 :at a considerable distance in time

not far from the year 1870

— by far

:far and away

is by far the best runner

— far be it from

:it would be inappropriate or impossible for

far be it from me to complain

— far from

:of a distinctly different and especially opposite quality than

the trip was far from a failure

— how far

:to what extent, degree, or distance

didn't know how far to trust them

— so far

1 :to a certain extent, degree, or distance

when the water rose so far, we fled

2 :up to the present

has written one novel so far

— thus far

:so far

thus far the results are negative

See far defined for English-language learners

See far defined for kids

Examples of far in a Sentence

The dog wandered far from home.
These new discoveries will allow us to see far into the past.
She lives far out in the country.
The house is set far back from the road.
The deadline is not far off.
regions far to the north
a town not far from Chicago
He still lives not far from where he was born.
The car is far too expensive.
His policies are far different from those of his predecessor.

Recent Examples of far from the Web

The latest reading on Japan’s core inflation showed a 0.5 percent gain year-on-year in July, far short of the 2 percent goal.

— yoshiaki nohara, Bloomberg.com, "Japan's Rainy Summer Messes With the BOJ's Inflation Campaign," 30 Aug. 2017
Officials say the inmates are being moved to locations that are not at risk of flooding, and overcrowding has not been an issue thus far.

— ella ceron, Teen Vogue, "University of Tampa Professor Fired for Saying Hurricane Harvey Seemed Like "Karma" for Texas Republicans," 30 Aug. 2017
The compound has turned up far from Palo Verde, in blood and yolk from a croc population more than 100 kilometers away in the Tárcoles River, part of a different river system.

— mitch leslie, Science | AAAS, "Something is changing the sex of Costa Rican crocodiles," 30 Aug. 2017
The network so far has avoided embarrassing incidents that have occurred with other network personalities.

— david bauder, The Seattle Times, "Weather Channel, news networks, go all in on Harvey coverage," 29 Aug. 2017
The castle, now used as an inn, isn't far from Depp's farm.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Snoop around Johnny Depp's Kentucky horse farm before it goes on sale," 29 Aug. 2017
Peoples's lives far more important' Never miss a local story.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "Texas Rangers pledge $1 million to Harvey relief effort," 29 Aug. 2017
Only one applicant, out of 102 pre-approved, has received a dispensary license so far.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Locations of medical marijuana dispensaries won't be public until state licenses are issued," 29 Aug. 2017
Only time will tell... but this might be an example of how being #onbrand can go a tad too far.

— halie lesavage, Glamour, "It Was Only a Matter of Time Before Melania Trump Got FLOTUS Merch," 29 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'far.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of far

Middle English fer, from Old English feorr; akin to Old High German ferro far, Old English faran to go — more at fare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

far Synonyms

Synonyms

achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, very, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly

Antonyms

little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat

Near Antonyms

meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

far

adjective

Definition of far

farther or further; farthest or furthest

1 a :remote in space

b :distinctly different in quality or relationship

c :remote in time

2 a :long

a far journey

b :of notable extent :comprehensive

a man of far vision

3 :the more distant of two

the far end

4 :extreme

the far left

a far right political organization

See far defined for English-language learners

Examples of far in a Sentence

the far corners of the world
the far reaches of outer space

Recent Examples of far from the Web

Except for the most incorrigible inmates, all prisoners had the opportunity to attend one October Sunday show each year, and prison administrators even developed a protocol to bus them to Huntsville from the far corners of the Texas prison system.

— mitchel p. roth, Smithsonian, "Desegregation Came Early at the Texas Prison Rodeo," 30 Aug. 2017
Was seeing the total solar eclipse worth sacrificing sleep over, let alone spending hundreds of dollars and an entire day traveling to the far corners of North Carolina for an event that would only last a couple of minutes?

— lyndsey matthews, Country Living, "I Traveled to Another State to See the Total Solar Eclipse and It Was Absolutely Worth It," 21 Aug. 2017
Friends clustered around a few screens in the far corner of the space as carnival games were played in the background.

— alexa philippou, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati watch parties span the city," 16 Aug. 2017
Not long after, Will Bruin made a nice tip to Cristian Roldan, who rocketed a shot from outside the box just wide of the far corner of the net.

— geoff baker, The Seattle Times, "Sounders top Sporting Kansas City 1-0 to move in to tie for first place," 12 Aug. 2017
The locker itself sits in the far corner of the room, right by the entrance to the showers.

— ethan bauer, miamiherald, "It could have been ‘his All-Star Game.’ Now, reminders of Jose Fernandez are everywhere.," 8 July 2017
With enormous windows and a spacious cabin that resembles the inside of a large SUV, it was designed to provide a luxury experience that's a far cry from flying a commercial plane.

— diana kruzman, USA TODAY, "Price-cutting private jet shakes up aircraft market," 6 July 2017
The South team then cleared the way for North, who worked her way to the far edge of the 8-meter arc.

— monica d'ippolito, Howard County Times, "Renehan, Bracey help South team earn win in Under Armour All-America girls lacrosse game," 1 July 2017
The traditional vinegar is a far cry from what is commonly called balsamic; an imposter made of grape must and caramel coloring.

— jessica colley clarke, CNT, "Real Balsamic Vinegar Is Rarer Than You Think," 30 June 2017

First Known Use of far

before 12th century

far Synonyms

Synonyms

extended, long, great, lengthy, long-drawn-out (or long-drawn), long-lived, long-term

Antonyms

brief, little, mini, short, shortish, short-lived, short-term

Related Words

aeonian (or aeonic), endless, everlasting, interminable, persistent; longish, overlong, prolonged, protracted; permanent; all-day, all-night; multiday, multiyear

Near Antonyms

abrupt, sudden; abbreviated, condensed, curtailed, shortened; ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, transient, transitory; impermanent; short-range

FAR

abbreviation

Definition of FAR

federal air regulation

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

airway, apron, corridor, dirigible, fishtail, flat-hat, vector

Financial Definition of FAR

FAR

abbreviation

What It Is

Free asset ratio refers to the net assets of an insurance company as a percentage of its total assets. Free assets are the same as net assets, that is, assets that are not obligated to insurance policies.

How It Works

The formula for calculating FAR is:

FAR = (Total Assets – Secured Assets) / Total Assets

An insurance company must maintain certain financial reserves on hand to cover its obligations to its policyholders. The insurance company invests in assets that produce income for the company. A portion of these assets is pledged to secure the obligations of the company. The remaining portion is free assets.

For example, if Company XYZ has $1,000,000 in total assets and $700,000 of that are liabilities tied to policies, then its free asset ratio is 30%.

1,000,000 - 700,000 = 300,000
300,000 / 1,000,000 = 0.3 = 30%

Why It Matters

British insurance companies use this ratio as a solvency measure. It is measured as available assets less required minimum margin of solvency divided by admissible assets. The higher the percentage of the ratio, the more easily it allows the insurance company to expand its operations.

Source: Investing Answers

FAR Defined for English Language Learners

far

adverb

Definition of far for English Language Learners

: at or to a great distance in space or time
: to a great extent
: to or at a particular distance, point, or degree

far

adjective

Definition of far for English Language Learners

: very distant in space or time
—used to refer to the side, end, etc., that is more distant

FAR Defined for Kids

far

adverb \ ˈfär \

Definition of far for Students

farther \ˈfär-t͟hər\ or further \ˈfər-\; farthest \ˈfär-t͟həst\ or furthest \ˈfər-\

1 :at or to a great distance in space or time

far from home

He read far into the night.

2 :to a great extent :much

far better

3 :to or at a definite distance or point

I walked as far as I could.

4 :to an advanced point

A smart student can go far.

— by far

:by a great extent or degree

better by far

far

adjective

Definition of far for Students

farther or further; farthest or furthest

1 :very distant in space or time

a far country

2 :the more distant of two

the far side of the stream

3 :¹long 2

a far journey

Learn More about far

See words that rhyme with far Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for far Spanish Central: Translation of far Nglish: Translation of far for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of far for Arabic speakers

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far

Definition of far

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Synonyms

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FAR

Definition of FAR

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Financial Definition of FAR

What It Is

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FAR Defined for English Language Learners

far

Definition of far for English Language Learners

far

Definition of far for English Language Learners

FAR Defined for Kids

far

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far

Definition of far for Students

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