From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdistancedis‧tance1 /ˈdɪstəns/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 1 amount of space [countable, uncountable]DISTANCE the amount of space between two places or thingsdistance from/between the distance from Chicago to Detroit Measure the distance between the two points. The cottage is some distance (=quite a long distance) from the road.at a distance of 2 feet/10 metres etc A shark can smell blood at a distance of half a kilometer.RegisterIn everyday English, when talking about how far something is, people often use an expression such as how far or a long/short way rather than the noun distance: What is the distance from Chicago to Detroit? → How far is it from Chicago to Detroit? | The cottage is some distance from the road. → The cottage is a long way from the road.2 far away [singular] used to talk about a situation when something is far away from you in space or timein the distance Church bells rang in the distance (=they were far away).at/from a distance We watched from a distance.3 unfriendly feeling [singular]UNFRIENDLY a situation in which two people do not have a close friendly relationshipdistance between There was still a distance between me and my father.4 → keep your distance5 → go the (full) distance → long-distance, middle distanceCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesa long/great/considerable distanceThe sound of guns seemed a long distance away.a short distanceI quickly walked the short distance to the car.a safe distance (=enough space to be safe)You should keep a safe distance from the car in front.some distance (=quite a long distance)He heard a scream some distance away.vast distancesThe aircraft is able to carry huge loads over vast distances.the stopping/braking distance (=how far you travel in a car after pressing the brakes)What’s the stopping distance at 30 miles an hour?verbstravel a great/long etc distanceIn some countries children must travel great distances to school each day.measure the distance between thingsNow we are able to measure the distances between the planets.judge distances (=judge how much space there is between things)Animals that hunt can judge distances very well.phraseswithin (easy) walking distance (=near enough to walk to easily)There are lots of restaurants within walking distance.within travelling/commuting/driving distance of something (=near enough to make travel to or from a place possible)The job was not within travelling distance of my home.within striking distance of something (=not far from something, especially something you are going to attack)Their troops had advanced to within striking distance of the town.within spitting distance informal (=very near something)The ball passed within spitting distance of the goal.put some distance between yourself and somebody/something (=go quite a long way from them)He wanted to put some distance between himself and his pursuers.
Examples from the Corpus
distance• We watched him closely from a distance.• A distance that a bird could cover in an hour might require a week to negotiate.• The result is that their high social mobility does not entail high levels of long distance spatial mobility.• Maskelyne took up, then embraced, then came to personify the lunar distance method.• It is still possible to trace its water courses, some distance from Awre, close to Hall Farm.• Now that there's some distance between us and the accident, it's easier to talk about.• She often asked me about the hills in the distance, beyond the moors, and wanted to ride her pony there.• At the top end of the paddock Arkle haughtily stares into the distance.• What is the distance from New York to Miami?• Measure the distance between the window and the door.• the distance between the earth and the sunsome distance• Usually the animals were spirited away some distance to prevent detection; many ended up at the Colombo slaughterhouse.• It is still possible to trace its water courses, some distance from Awre, close to Hall Farm.• If the path had crossed this line then a clear surface would have been encountered some distance below the clouds.• Ellingwood drove beside the track for some distance, not telling Jimmy where they were headed.• Once at sea level, smooth soapstone slabs had to be traversed for some distance to reach the cliff.• Many houses some distance from the blast which was close to the nearby police station were badly damaged.• He heard a scream, some distance away.• There is clearly still some distance to go.• The church is still some distance away.at/from a distance• And you could hear them coming from a distance.• It had looked kind of cute, from a distance.• On the screen, two cowboys were exchanging rifle fire at a distance of thirty meters or so.• I've seen him at a distance, I've seen him in bad light.• The solar wind loses its identity in the interstellar medium at a distance no less than that of the outer planets.• Later in the evening, a pack of coyotes surrounds us from a distance for a soulful evening howl.• The spectators may go to a specific sports event, or watch at a distance on television.• Abdul-Rauf is again demonstrating just how difficult it is for the twain to meet, or even wave from a distance.distance between• There was still a certain distance between me and my father.• The economic distance between rich and poor will only cause more trouble for society.• The distance between St. Petersburg and Moscow is 593 miles.distancedistance2 verb → distance yourself (from something)→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
distance• Falconer had apparently been playing with the letters of the name, breaking them up, distancing each from the other.• To many, the world in which they appear to have lived seems to have been distanced from reality.• In the ensuing political rumpus John Major shamelessly distanced himself from his henchman.• He regards the trappings of power as more important than dogma, and has distanced himself from the Communists more than once.• He also chose to distance himself geographically.• Finally, Norman began to distance himself.• You must learn to distance yourself. 