in the long run
"in-the-long-run" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“in the long run” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - After a very long time; eventually; over a long period of time; more generally.
Corpus desk
Index EN-in-the-long-run · in the long run · English
in the long run · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | in the long run |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “in the long run” in English
Rare enough to double-check
in the long run is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "After a very long time; eventually; over a long period of time; more generally.".
in the long run has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is in the long run, spelled I-N- -T-H-E- -L-O-N-G- -R-U-N.
Definition
- 1After a very long time; eventually; over a long period of time; more generally.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how in the long run appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead.
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run — and often in the short one — the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.