What does duration mean?
Word: Duration
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Duration means how long something lasts, from its start to its end.
Synonyms: span, period, term
How do you spell duration?
Syllables: du - ra - tion
Tricky part: It begins du, even though many people say it like jur, and there is only one r.
Watch out for: duratian, durration, duraton
Memory tip: Durable things last a long time, and duration is how long something lasts. Both begin with dura.
Duration in a sentence
Example 1: The flight from Delhi to Mumbai has a duration of about two hours.
Example 2: Please keep your phone switched off for the duration of the play.
Example 3: The doctor asked how long the fever had lasted and noted its duration on the chart.
Fun Fact
The duration of a day on Earth is very slowly growing, by roughly 2 thousandths of a second each century, because the Moon's pull on the oceans slows Earth's spin.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to duration in this sentence:
The duration of the summer camp was cut from three weeks to ten days because of the heat.
a) length
b) cost
c) venue
d) timing
Show answer
a) length. Duration is how long something lasts, so length fits; the timing, cost and venue of a camp are other matters.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Because of the heatwave, the school shortened the durasion of each period and moved sports practice to the early morning.
a) heatwave
b) practice
c) shortened
d) durasion
Show answer
d) durasion. The ending is tion, as in station and nation.
Spell-o-Spell
One of these words is spelt right. Pick the meaning of that word.
1. duration 2. intervel 3. annivarsary 4. momment
a) the date when something happened in an earlier year
b) a gap of time between two events
c) a very short point in time
d) how long something lasts
Show answer
d) how long something lasts. Only duration survives a careful check: intervel should end in al, annivarsary needs er after the v, and momment has a spare m.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which question asks about duration?
a) Where was the match?
b) How long did the match last?
c) Why was the match late?
d) Who won the match?
Show answer
b) How long did the match last?
2. Staying 'for the duration' of a holiday means staying ____.
a) until someone asks you to leave
b) for as long as the weather is fine
c) for the whole of it
d) only for the first few days
Show answer
c) for the whole of it
