long-distance relationship
Very CommonA romantic relationship where partners live too far apart for regular in-person contact.
Can be temporary (one person relocating for school or work) or indefinite. The internet made LDRs much more common and survivable. Still widely treated as harder than local relationships.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | year two of our ldr and honestly it gets easier once you figure out the routine | The person has learned to manage the challenges of long-distance after some time. | reddit, 2024 |
| 02 | people always say ldrs don't work but we're closing the distance next month | The couple is about to end their long-distance period by moving closer. | x, 2023 |
| 03 | we met online so technically this has been an ldr from day one | The relationship started at a distance and never had a local phase. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | the hardest part of the ldr isn't the distance it's the time zones | Coordinating time across zones creates more friction than the physical separation itself. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Partners are geographically separated and primarily communicate online or by phone.
- A couple met online and has never lived near each other.
- One partner moved away for college, work, or family reasons.
- Describing the challenges or dynamics unique to distance-based relationships.
Do not use it when
- Partners live in the same city but are busy and rarely see each other.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Long-distance relationships have existed as long as people traveled for work or war, but the term became part of everyday vocabulary as internet communication made maintaining them more viable in the 1990s and 2000s.
- First seen
- 1990s
- Confidence
- medium
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https://slang.fyi/long-distance-relationshipUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0