Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use distance in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Distance means an amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line. Example: “The distance between the lowest and next gear on my bicycle is annoying.”

Examples of distance by meaning

nounChiefly with a modifying word: a measure between two points or quantities; a difference, a variance.

  • angular distance focal distance
  • The distance between the lowest and next gear on my bicycle is annoying.

nounA separation in some way other than space or time.

  • The friendship did not survive the row: they kept each other at a distance.

nounThe amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight...

  • The distance to Petersborough is thirty miles.
  • From Moscow, the distance is relatively short to Saint Petersburg, relatively long to Novosibirsk, but even greater to Vladivostok.

nounThe entire amount of progress to an objective.

  • He had promised to perform this task, but did not go the distance.

nounThe state of remoteness or separation in some way other than space or time.

  • the distance between a descendant and their ancestor
  • We’re narrowing the distance between the two versions of the bill.

verbTo keep (oneself) away from someone or something, especially because one does not want to be associated with that...

  • He distanced himself from the comments made by some of his colleagues.
  • Distancing himself from his own family and the heavy legacy of his birth.2017, Abby Green, “Prologue”, in A Christmas Bride for the King, London: Mills & Boon, →ISBN, page 7
  • But Gisby distances himself from calling TPE an inter-city operator.2023 November 1, Philip Haigh, “TPE Must Choose the Right Route to a Brighter Future”, in Rail, number 995, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire...

verbTo keep oneself emotionally or socially apart from another person or people; to keep one's distance.

  • When a family member goes outside of the family to deal with a problem, he or she distances from the family.1992, David S. Freeman, “The Major Systems Involved in the Family Therapy Process”, in Multigenerational Family Therapy, Binghamton, N.Y....

More sentences with distance

  • Thunder boomed in the distance and lightning flashes lit up the horizon.From the entry boom
  • The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor.From the entry foot
  • Off in the distance, he heard the thunder of hoofbeats, signalling a stampede.From the entry thunder
  • I saw them walking from a distance, their bodies strangely angular in the dawn light.From the entry body
  • Hey, fighter boy, our radar's putting out enough energy to launch your seat from this distance!From the entry seat
  • The long distance and the indifferent roads made the journey impossible.From the entry indifferent
  • The working minimum focus distance is the distance from the closest focusable subject to the lens.From the entry working
  • As the police approached, the car pulled off and sped away into the distance.From the entry pull off
  • The spoutings of a large whale can be seen from a great distance.From the entry spouting
  • From such a long distance away, the name on the signpost was unclear.From the entry unclear
  • When I heard swear words from the next room, I decided to keep my distance.From the entry swear word
  • A TOW missile is an antitank weapon capable of killing everyone in a tank from great distance.From the entry antitank
  • In the distance, I could just make out a shadowy figure.From the entry make out
  • We could see the lights of the village twinkling in the distance.From the entry twinkle
  • Since the falling out with his neighbor, they have kept their distance.From the entry falling out
  • When I saw the other driver weaving erratically across the road, I decided to keep my distance.From the entry erratically
  • He was at great pains to distance himself from the rumours.From the entry at pains
  • The string distance between 'here' and 'there' is 1 (insertion of a t).From the entry string distance
  • The rocks lay at about a mile's distance from the shore.From the entry -'s
  • He reckoned the distance without any instruments or maps with surprising accuracy.From the entry reckon without
  • He was sure his girlfriend would stay the distance with her addiction treatment.From the entry stay the distance
  • The logistics of a pansolar society must take massive distances and speeds into consideration.From the entry pansolar
  • Our great hive minds can instantly read their feeble mental projections from even this distance.From the entry hive minds
  • The choice to punt at this down and distance is unusual.From the entry down and distance
  • She was either handsome or her uniform created a flattering effect but—being very nearsighted—he couldn't tell from this distance.From the entry handsome
  • A repeater signal may be used where the track geometry makes the main signal difficult to read from a distance.From the entry read
  • The fight went the distance and was decided on points.From the entry go
  • I can't get anything to hit at that distance.From the entry hit

Meaning of distance

  1. noun An amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.
  2. noun Chiefly in by a distance: a space of more than 30 lengths (about 80 yards or 7.3 metres) between two racehorses finishing a race, used to describe the margin of victory; also (archaic), any space of 240 yards (about 219.5 metres) on a racecourse.
  3. noun Chiefly in from a distance: a place which is far away or remote; specifically (especially painting), a more remote part of a landscape or view as contrasted with the foreground.

Full definition of distance

Questions about distance in a sentence

How do you use distance in a sentence?
Distance is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The distance between the lowest and next gear on my bicycle is annoying.”
What is a short sentence with distance?
“angular distance focal distance”
What does distance mean?
Distance means an amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: distance (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use distance in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/distance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.