furlong

noun fur·long \ ˈfər-ˌlȯŋ \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: furlong Has Old English Roots

Definition of furlong

: a unit of distance equal to 220 yards (about 201 meters)

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Recent Examples of furlong from the Web

Led the Florida Derby through six furlongs before finishing last in the nine-horse field.

— neil greenberg, chicagotribune.com, "2018 Kentucky Derby post draw, odds and picks: Everything you need to know," 1 May 2018
Invested Prospect, a 5-year-old mare trained by Blaine Wright and ridden by Kevin Orozco, ran 6 furlongs in 1 minute, 8.69 seconds.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Invested Prospect leads virtually all the way to win at Emerald Downs," 28 May 2018
Last year, Tapwrit defeated favorite Irish War Cry with a late sprint down the final furlong.

— jenna west, SI.com, "When is the Belmont Stakes?," 19 May 2018
Noble Indy, April 20, Palm Beach Downs, 6 furlongs, 1:15.00, 1/ 2.

— john cherwa, latimes.com, "Racing! Some early Kentucky Derby numbers to chew on," 23 Apr. 2018
These can be any distance but usually are 4-6 furlongs.

— jason frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Horse racing terms to keep you in the know for Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby 2018," 3 Apr. 2018
Quip set off down the backstretch on his mile-long gallop, comfortably hitting each furlong in about 18 seconds, his normal galloping pace.

— david gendelman, New York Times, "How to Prepare a Horse for the Preakness," 12 May 2018
First post is at 12:45 p.m. Race 3: No. 5 Swinging Bridge ships in from Parx off of a 4 1/4-length victory against optional claiming foes going 6 1/2 furlongs.

— scott shapiro, The Courier-Journal, "Twinspires.com's free expert pick for Sunday races at Churchill Downs," 12 May 2018
But Cubs right fielder Ben Zobrist uncorked a perfect one-hop throw that beat Dietrich to the plate by a furlong.

— ted berg, For The Win, "Bench-clearing MLB incident de-escalates into brief tickle fight," 9 May 2018

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

furlong Has Old English Roots

Furlong is an English original and can be traced back to Old English "furlang," a combination of the noun "furh" ("furrow") and the adjective "lang" ("long"). Though now standardized as a length of 220 yards (or 1/8th of a mile), the furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow in a cultivated field. This length was equal to the long side of an acre-an area originally defined as the amount of arable land that could be plowed by a yoke of oxen in a day, but later standardized as an area measuring 220 yards (one furlong) by 22 yards, and now defined as any area measuring 4,840 square yards. In contemporary usage, "furlong" is often encountered in references to horse racing.