long distancen.1. An operator or a system that places long-distance telephone calls.2. A long-distance telephone call.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.long? dis?tance n. telephone service between distant places. long?-dis?tance adj. 1. of, from, or between distant places: a long-distance phone call. 2. for, over, or covering long distances: a long-distance runner. adv. 3. by long-distance telephone service: to call someone long-distance. [1880?85] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.