in the long run
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Use the Charts to help narrow your selection of suitable lenders, which will save considerable time and money in the long run.
Only if productivity increases is it possible in the long - run for both groups to be successful.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “in the long run” mean?
Eventually.
Is “in the long run” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.