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Furlong Has Old English Roots
Furlong is an English original that 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—a trench in the earth made by a plow—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.
Examples of furlong in a Sentence
Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
The Del Mar Futurity, at 7 furlongs, also revolves around Baffert, whose colts have won the past four runnings and 18 of the past 29, dominance that began with Silver Charm winning the Futurity in a mild upset to jumpstart his journey to victory in the 1997 Kentucky Derby.
—Kevin Modesti, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2025
The 10-furlong test will see the return of reigning Classic winner Sierra Leone, but several rivals appear capable of spoiling the party.
—Jared Welch, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Both were at a much shorter distance than the Derby’s 10 furlongs, but that’s still a factor worth considering.
—Teresa Genaro, New York Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for furlong
Cite this Entry
“Furlong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furlong. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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furlong
noun
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