Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition Over the length of.
  • preposition On a line or course parallel and close to; continuously beside.
  • preposition In accordance with.
  • adverb Forward; onward.
  • adverb As company.
  • adverb In accompaniment or association; together.
  • adverb With one; at hand.
  • adverb Informal Advanced to some degree.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Owing to; on account of: with of, formerly with on.
  • Through or by the length of; from one end to or toward the other of; lengthwise or in a longitudinal direction through, over, or by the side of: implying motion or direction: as, to walk along a river or highway.
  • By the length; lengthwise; parallel to or in a line with the length.
  • In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward: as, let us walk along.
  • In company; together.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.
  • adverb In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.
  • adverb In company; together.
  • adverb all through the course of; during the whole time; throughout.
  • adverb to get on; to make progress, as in business.
  • (Now heard only in the prep. phrase along of.)
  • [Obs. or Low. Eng.] owing to; on account of.
  • preposition By the length of, as distinguished from across.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • preposition By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.
  • preposition In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.
  • adverb In company; together.
  • adverb Onward, forward, with progressive action.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb to a more advanced state
  • adverb in accompaniment or as a companion
  • adverb in addition (usually followed by `with')
  • adverb with a forward motion
  • adverb in line with a length or direction (often followed by `by' or `beside')

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English andlang, extending opposite : and-, facing; see ant- in Indo-European roots + lang, long; see long.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

  • Wonder no more, Bush's supply-side tax cuts were never meant to trickle down to the average American ~ they were meant, along with lucrative tax benefits, for the major corporations who have gone overseas to reap significant profits ~along with atumbling dollar working to their advantage.

    WALL STREET SOARS WHILE MAIN STREET SINKS 2007

  • Now fweep •along its top, now neigh along the vale I '-

    The Works of the English Poets 1779

  • The channel is conducted a little above the city of Bubastis by Patumos the Arabian city, and runs into the Erythraian Sea: and it is dug first along those parts of the plain of Egypt which lie towards Arabia, just above which run the mountains which extend opposite Memphis, where are the stone-quarries, —along the base of these mountains the channel is conducted from West to East for a great way; and after that it is directed towards a break in the hills and tends from these mountains towards the noon-day and the South Wind to the Arabian gulf.

    An Account of Egypt: Being the Second Book of His Histories Called Euterpe. Paras. 60-77 Herodotus 1909

  • Bet on the boat races along the canals. if you’re a true criminal, you’d rig the races …..along the canals …….amid the aforesaid architecture.

    IN BRUGES « FranksFilms 2009

  • The more accurate equivalent would a term along the lines of ‘First Among Equals.’

    Star Trek® New Frontier Peter David 1997

  • The more accurate equivalent would a term along the lines of ‘First Among Equals.’

    Star Trek® New Frontier Peter David 1997

  • The more accurate equivalent would a term along the lines of ‘First Among Equals.’

    Star Trek® New Frontier Peter David 1997

  • The more accurate equivalent would a term along the lines of ‘First Among Equals.’

    Star Trek® New Frontier Peter David 1997

  • The more accurate equivalent would a term along the lines of ‘First Among Equals.’

    Star Trek® New Frontier Peter David 1997

  • Ms. Stanton is an old college friend of the dealer—known throughout this narrative by the pseudonym "Curt Avery"—and he lets her tag along for several seasons as an unpaid assistant.

    A Never-Ending Treasure Hunt Jonathan Lopez 2011

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