go long

go long (third-person singular simple present goes long, present participle going long, simple past went long, past participle gone long)

1. (economics, intransitive) To buy a financial product with the intention of holding it for sufficient time for it to increase in value and thus to be sold for a profit.
   • 1984, InfoWorld (volume 6, number 18, page 20)

     Let's say you went long with 100 shares of Computer Devices stock at its peak, $16.62. What then cost you $1,662 you could now sell for about $50, which would just about cover commissions.

2. (sports) To run far down the field away from the quarterback to receive a long or Hail Mary pass in American football.
   • 2011, Michael Francis Mann, Baseball's Rare Triple Crown, page 164:

     He went only 1 for 3 in the first game of the doubleheader, but he found the fence with that hit for his fifth round tripper and was 2 for 5 in game 2 and, once again, went long for home run number 6, a two-run shot, and the Red Sox were able to pull out both the wins at 8-5 and 13-9 over the Tigers.