far

1 adverb comparative farther or further superlative farthest or furthest A LONG DISTANCE

1 LONG DISTANCE a long distance: Have you driven far? | We walked much further than we had intended. | far away: My parents don't live far away. | far above/below/across etc: The office blocks towered far above them. | far from/far away from: We were sitting too far away from the stage to be able to see very much.

2 how far used when asking or mentioning the distance between two places or the distance someone has travelled: How far is it to the station? | I wonder how far we've walked today.

3 as far as up to a particular point or distance: The flood waters had come up as far as the house.

4 as far as the eye can see up to the longest distance away that you can see: hills sweeping back as far as the eye could see

5 far and wide over or from a large area : hunt/search far and wide: He would hunt far and wide for rare medicinal herbs. | travel/wander/spread etc far and wide: Since then I have travelled far and wide.

MUCH/VERY/A LOT

6 (+ adj/adv) far stronger/far more intelligent/far more quickly etc much stronger, more intelligent etc: She works far longer hours than I do. | You'll get there far more quickly by car.

7 far too much/long/soon etc much too much, long, soon etc: It costs far too much money. | It's far too early to tell if she'll be OK.

8 to a great degree : far above/below: The increase in inflation is far below what experts predicted. | far removed (=very different): Life on the islands is far removed from the hustle and bustle of life in Manila.

9 by far/far and away used to say that something is much better, worse etc than anything else: The grass snake is by far the most common snake.

GIVING YOUR OPINION

10 as far as I'm/we're concerned spoken used to give your opinion about something: As far as I'm concerned, it sounds like a great idea.

11 as far as sth is concerned spoken used to give your opinion or to state facts about a particular thing: This has been a difficult period as far as the German economy is concerned.

12 as far as I know/as far as I can remember spoken used to say that you think that something is true, although you do not know all the facts, cannot remember completely etc: As far as I can tell, the whole thing should cost about -500.

13 I wouldn't go as far as to say spoken used to say that you think a particular idea or opinion is too extreme or unlikely to be true: “Do you think they'll win?” “Oh I wouldn't go as far as to say that, but they're looking pretty good.”

NOT AT ALL

14 far from used to say that the opposite of something is true, or the opposite of what you expect happens : far from being: Far from being a reactionary, he's actually quite liberal in his views. | far from doing sth: Far from helping the situation, you've just made it worse. | far from pleased/happy etc: Michael walked in, looking far from happy.

15 far from it spoken used to say that the opposite of what someone says is true; certainly not: “Is he a good driver?” “Far from it!”

16 far be it from me to do sth spoken used when you are going to criticize someone or give them advice, and you want to pretend that you do not want to do this: Far be it from me to try and run your life, but I really think you should leave him.

TO A PARTICULAR DEGREE

17 how far used to ask to what degree something is true: How far is violence caused by society? | I'm not sure how far this will help the economy.

18 as far as it goes used to say that an idea, suggestion, plan etc is satisfactory, but only to a limited degree: It's a perfectly good law as far as it goes, but it doesn't deal with the real problems.

19 so far up to a particular point, degree, distance etc: You can only trust him so far. | so far and no further: They can extend the budget so far and no further.

PROGRESS/SUCCEED

20 how far have you got? used when asking or talking about how much of something someone has done or how much they have achieved

(+ with): How far did you get with the cleaning?

21 so far so good spoken used to say that things have been happening successfully until now

22 sb will/should go far used to say that you think someone will be successful in the future: She is an excellent musician and should go far.

23 LONG TIME a long time in the past or the future, or a long time into a particular period : far back (=a long time in the past): The story takes us far back in the past, to the time of the Pharaohs. | far into: We worked far into the night.

—see also: far­off

24 so far until now: We haven't had any trouble so far.

25 as far as possible/so far as possible as much as possible: We try to use local materials as far as possible.

26 go as far as to do sth to behave in a way that seems surprising or extreme: She even went as far as to threaten to kill herself.

27 go too far also take/carry sth too far to do something too much or in an extreme way, especially so that people get angry: That little brat has gone too far this time! | The general view was that the President had gone too far in his support for the Contras.

28 not go far

a) if money does not go far you cannot buy very much with it: A dollar doesn't go very far these days.

b) if a supply of something does not go far, it is not enough: That pot of coffee won't go far if everyone wants some.

29 not be far off/out/wrong informal used to say that something is almost correct: The weather forecast wasn't far off, just look at the rain.

30 in so far as/in as far as/insofar as formal to the degree that something affects another thing or is connected with it: The Committee's recommendations, in so far as they affect deaf people, are set out in this document.

2 adjective comparative farther or further superlative farthest, or furthest

1 a long way away: You can see my house from here; it isn't far. | In the far distance she could see the outlines of tall, city buildings.

2 the far end/side etc the end or side that is furthest from you: She swam to the far side of the lake.

3 the far north/south etc the part of a country or area that is furthest in the direction of north, south etc: the great plains in the far west of the country

4 the far left/right people who have extreme left wing or right wing political opinions

5 be a far cry from to be very different from something else: The current economic situation is a far cry from what was predicted at the election.