How to Use long-ago in a Sentence

long-ago

1 of 2 adjective
  • There was a grassy smell, the long-ago seeping out of the earth.
    — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The knolls are crowned with scrub oak and the slopes are swept bare from a long-ago fire.
    — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2024
  • Then the long-ago baseball lessons from his mother kicked in.
    — Hikari Hida, New York Times, 26 July 2023
  • Just a few of my questions were enough to trigger their long-ago pain.
    — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025
  • This book holds a special place in my heart as my long-ago intro to the genre.
    — Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
  • The same goes with the James gang, other folk heroes from a long-ago.
    — Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 11 Jan. 2025
  • By season’s end, your current era will feel like a whole ’nother long-ago lifetime.
    — Jennifer Culp, Them, 16 Aug. 2024
  • Bringing Duvall back to the Bay would right a long-ago wrong.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 2 Jan. 2024
  • Again and again, the book returns to one long-ago November.
    — Honor Jones, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Indeed, faint outlines of long-ago lakes have been spotted in the region.
    — Katherine Kornei, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Fifteen then surveys the long-ago sky into which Joy, as a star, has risen.
    — Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 25 Dec. 2024
  • The plot of land’s long-ago owner came up with a direct method of keeping the outside world at bay.
    — Bob Greene, WSJ, 6 Mar. 2023
  • That was back when things were different, in the long-ago world of 2014 or so.
    — Brooke Jarvis, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023
  • One of them remembered me from a long-ago visit and greeted me like the prodigal son.
    — Robert Klose, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Apr. 2023
  • The charges were unrelated to the long-ago crimes at the Carmichael party.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2025
  • But the courts are saying no and are not afraid, showing the spirit of those long-ago minutemen.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025
  • No quotes from long-ago laureates in this one — just Colby’s own brilliance.
    — Drew Goins, Washington Post, 2 July 2024
  • Could our own feelings, in fact, be the psychic residue of those long-ago experiences?
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
  • Remi Wolf, whose youthful genre-hopping will give a jolt to a fest that’s heavier on long-ago hits.
    — Dan Reilly, Vulture, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Cloutier said these beings are integral to the story and leftovers from that long-ago era.
    — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
  • At a Michigan orchard, a woman tells her three daughters about a long-ago romance.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023
  • At a Michigan orchard, a woman tells her three daughters about a long-ago romance.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2023
  • At a Michigan orchard, a woman tells her three daughters about a long-ago romance.
    — The California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024
  • The nudge reminded Joe of Aldrin’s long-ago galactic snub of the group.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The problem is, her long-ago lover (Callum Turner) has been waiting for her, too.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Kurlansky drops us into this long-ago world quickly – so quickly, in fact, that readers might need some time to get their bearings.
    — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Dec. 2025
  • At the restaurant Weavers, which serves a succulent plate of seared local scallops, a plaque marks the level of a long-ago flood.
    — Shane C Kurup, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Dec. 2024
  • The question of what took place in the boy’s bedroom that day during their long-ago childhood haunts NDiaye’s book.
    — Katie Kitamura, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2023
  • On that long-ago October afternoon, Willy told me about back-breaking farm work, long hot days and long cold nights.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Crockett said the song was inspired by his long-ago period of busking in New York City.
    — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025

long ago

2 of 2 noun
  • How long ago does a year ago feel now?
    — ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
  • This was the state of the world not that long ago.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
  • This was back in ‘66 — long ago.
    — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Charles was in town not too long ago, Gay says.
    — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 7 June 2026
  • Her own windows had too, long ago.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Not long ago, the outlook was grim.
    — Diane Goldstein, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
  • They should have been published long ago.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Anyone else would have run for the hills long ago.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Things did used to be better, and not that long ago.
    — Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Bouie saw her son have one of these nightmares not too long ago.
    — Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 9 May 2024
  • Not that long ago, pitchers had teeth pulled to treat their arms.
    — Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
  • Though their style of worship changed long ago, the name stuck.
    — Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
  • If the world had shown any moral courage, this war would have been over long ago.
    — Nolan Lebovitz, Oc Register, 5 Aug. 2025
  • For Porter, that damage was done long ago.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
  • But Freeling made his peace with that long ago.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Frozen ground contains the stems and roots of plants buried in soil long ago.
    — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2021
  • While the game wasn’t that long ago, much has changed for the two programs.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Dec. 2025
  • This is a year ago, August, not that long ago.
    — Senior Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Not that long ago, the Brewers showed it could be done.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The decade wasn’t that long ago, but there’s already been signs that point to yes.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 14 Dec. 2022
  • Germany was the trading hotspot of the world not too long ago.
    — Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2023
  • The two spoke on the phone not long ago, but only met today.
    — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026
  • Not long ago, Stevenson was one of those bright-eyed campers.
    — oregonlive, 24 July 2021
  • This was unimaginable not that long ago.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • There was a time—and not very long ago—that would have scoffed at 11% growth.
    — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
  • There was a time—not so very long ago—when world leaders felt obliged to lie to us.
    — Rosa Brooks, Washington Post, 15 June 2026
  • Words written long ago find a new voice as they're set to music.
    — Edie Kasten, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • How long ago was the management split?
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2025
  • That's why all of those rockets were long ago aimed at those countries.
    — Robert Costa, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • His World Cup legacy was sealed long ago.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'long-ago.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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