along

From Middle English, from Old English andlang from prefix and- + lang (“long”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈlɒŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈlɔŋ/
• (US, cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /əˈlɑŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: a‧long

along

1. By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
   • 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Cooper Beeches”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‎, page 294:

     They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.

   • 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:

     As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.

2. In a line with, with a progressive motion on; onward on; forward on.
   • Bible, 1 Samuel vi. 12

     The kine […] went along the highway.

   • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion‎, page 266:

     In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.

   • 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‎, page 93:

     Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 13, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.

• alongst (archaic)
• endlong (dialectal)

along (not comparable)

1. In company; together.

   John played the piano and everyone sang along.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎:

     From The Best of You to The Pretender, their own material invariably came equipped with huge choruses designed to be bellowed along to; they covered Another One Bites the Dust and Under Pressure; they gave every impression of being willing to play all night were it not for the curfew.

2. Onward, forward, with progressive action.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.

   Don't stop here. Just move along.

• alongst (archaic)

• go along
• get along
• go along to get along

• -gonal, Anglo, Anglo-, Golan, Logan, NALGO, anglo, anglo-, logan, long a, longa

along

1. son; address term for a male child