From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisha long waya long wayvery much, far, or a great amount or degree We’re still a long way from achieving our sales targets. Psychiatry has come a long way (=developed a lot) since the 1920s. Your contributions will go a long way towards helping children in need (=will help to reach a goal).by a long way/shot informal (also by a long chalk British English) (=used when something is much better, quicker, cheaper etc) It was his best performance this year, by a long way.not by a long way/shot informal (also not by a long chalk British English) (=not at all or not nearly) He had not told Rory everything, not by a long shot. → long
Examples from the Corpus
a long way• For me, a little bit of race watching goes a long way.• Genuine smiles and statements of appreciation go a long way.• The negotiations are over, but the contract is a long way from being signed.• It's a long way from the sturdy frames the technicians normally handle.• Taken together they go a long way in explaining the birth and persistence of aesthetic modernism.• Still, they had come a long way since their managerial debut.• He believes it still has a long way to go.• That tale goes a long way toward explaining why the spineless weasels in Dogpatch have once again rejected a referendum. 