distance
♦♦ dis|tance /d'ɪstəns/ (distances distancing distanced)
1 [N-VAR] with supp, oft N between pl-n
The distance between two points or places is the amount of space between them.
...the distance between the island and the nearby shore...
Everything is within walking distance...
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
When two things are very far apart, you talk about the distance between them.
The distance wouldn't be a problem.
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Distance learning or distance education involves studying at home and sending your work to a college or university, rather than attending the college or university in person.
I'm doing a theology degree by distance learning.
4 [N-UNCOUNT] usu N between pl-n
When you want to emphasize that two people or things do not have a close relationship or are not the same, you can refer to the distance between them.
There was a vast distance between psychological clues and concrete proof...
5 [N-SING] in/into the N
If you can see something in the distance, you can see it, far away from you.
We suddenly saw her in the distance...
6 [N-UNCOUNT] usu with supp
Distance is coolness or unfriendliness in the way that someone behaves towards you. (FORMAL)
There were periods of sulking, of pronounced distance, of coldness.
≠ closeness
7 [VERB] V pron-refl from n, V n from n
If you distance yourself from a person or thing, or if something distances you from them, you feel less friendly or positive towards them, or become less involved with them.
The author distanced himself from some of the comments in his book...
Television may actually be distancing the public from the war.
● distanced [ADJ] v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from n
Clough felt he'd become too distanced from his fans.
8 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If you are at a distance from something, or if you see it or remember it from a distance, you are a long way away from it in space or time.
The only way I can cope with my mother is at a distance...
Now I can look back on the whole tragedy from a distance of forty years.
9 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you keep your distance from someone or something or keep them at a distance, you do not become involved with them.
Jay had always tended to keep his girlfriends at a distance.
10 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you keep your distance from someone or something, you do not get physically close to them. (OLD-FASHIONED)
He walked towards the doorway, careful to keep his distance.mid|dle dis|tance
1 [N-SING] the N, usu into/in the N
If you are looking into the middle distance, you are looking at a place that is neither near nor far away.
He stares detachedly into the middle distance, towards nothing in particular.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A middle-distance runner is someone who takes part in races of medium length, for example 800 metres.
1 [N-VAR] with supp, oft N between pl-n
The distance between two points or places is the amount of space between them.
...the distance between the island and the nearby shore...
Everything is within walking distance...
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
When two things are very far apart, you talk about the distance between them.
The distance wouldn't be a problem.
3 [ADJ] ADJ n
Distance learning or distance education involves studying at home and sending your work to a college or university, rather than attending the college or university in person.
I'm doing a theology degree by distance learning.
4 [N-UNCOUNT] usu N between pl-n
When you want to emphasize that two people or things do not have a close relationship or are not the same, you can refer to the distance between them.
There was a vast distance between psychological clues and concrete proof...
5 [N-SING] in/into the N
If you can see something in the distance, you can see it, far away from you.
We suddenly saw her in the distance...
6 [N-UNCOUNT] usu with supp
Distance is coolness or unfriendliness in the way that someone behaves towards you. (FORMAL)
There were periods of sulking, of pronounced distance, of coldness.
≠ closeness
7 [VERB] V pron-refl from n, V n from n
If you distance yourself from a person or thing, or if something distances you from them, you feel less friendly or positive towards them, or become less involved with them.
The author distanced himself from some of the comments in his book...
Television may actually be distancing the public from the war.
● distanced [ADJ] v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from n
Clough felt he'd become too distanced from his fans.
8 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If you are at a distance from something, or if you see it or remember it from a distance, you are a long way away from it in space or time.
The only way I can cope with my mother is at a distance...
Now I can look back on the whole tragedy from a distance of forty years.
9 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you keep your distance from someone or something or keep them at a distance, you do not become involved with them.
Jay had always tended to keep his girlfriends at a distance.
10 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you keep your distance from someone or something, you do not get physically close to them. (OLD-FASHIONED)
He walked towards the doorway, careful to keep his distance.mid|dle dis|tance
1 [N-SING] the N, usu into/in the N
If you are looking into the middle distance, you are looking at a place that is neither near nor far away.
He stares detachedly into the middle distance, towards nothing in particular.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
A middle-distance runner is someone who takes part in races of medium length, for example 800 metres.