prep_phrase
Meaning 1
At a distance, away from one's body.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
at arm's length
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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prep_phrase
Meaning 2
Avoiding a close relationship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic
Examples
- She's been keeping me at arm's length all the time. She doesn't want to get involved.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adverb
Meaning 3
at some distance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- keep someone at arm's length
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
No etymology was provided for this word.
Across languages
Translations
12 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Esperanto: je brakodistanco — at a distance
- Finnish: etäällä — at a distance
- Finnish: käsivarren mitan päässä — at a distance
- French: à bout de bras — at a distance
- Hungarian: kartávolságra — at a distance
- Italian: a debita distanza — at a distance
- Italian: a distanza di sicurezza — at a distance
- Polish: na wyciągnięcie ręki — at a distance
- Polish: na dystans — at a distance
- Spanish: a la mano — at a distance
- Swedish: på armlängds avstånd — at a distance
- Finnish: pitää etäisyyttä — avoiding a close relationship