ADJ

appreciable, considerable, enormous, fair, good, great, huge, large, long, vast
The town is a considerable distance from the coast. It's quite a good distance to the nearest village. The people travel vast distances to find food
short, small
reasonable
certain, given
average, mean
the average distance covered during pursuits by cheetahs
equal
maximum, minimum
optimum
correct, right
exact
full
extra
fixed
finite, infinite
careful, comfortable, convenient, discreet, respectful, safe
The cat sat and watched us from a safe distance
braking, stopping
Allow for greater braking distances when pulling a loaded trailer
geographical, physical
These immigrants face problems of geographical distance and cultural isolation

VERB + DISTANCE

cover, fly, go, travel, walk
The young birds were soon flying distances of 200 feet or more
(figurative)
Nobody thought he would last 15 rounds but he went the full distance
keep
I kept a comfortable distance behind the van
determine, measure
gauge, judge
It is very difficult to judge distances in the desert

DISTANCE + NOUN

runner, running
a long-distance runner

PREP

at a ~ (from/of)
When launching a kick it is essential to be at the correct distance from your opponent. The town is situated at a distance of twenty miles from Oxford. She followed them at a discreet distance
from a ~ (of)
Visitors can only view the painting from a distance of three metres
over a ~ (of)
The sound can be heard over a distance of more than five miles
within a ~
children living within a certain distance of the school
~ away from
The house is a short distance away from the bus station
~ between
What's the distance between London and Edinburgh?
~ from, ~ to
the distance from our house to the school

PHRASES

a … distance ahead, away, apart, etc.
A bomb exploded some distance away
within commuting/driving/strolling/travelling/wal distance
The shops are within walking distance
within hailing/shouting/sniffing/spitting/ striking/ distance
The cat was now within striking distance of the duck
(figurative)
We came within spitting distance of winning the cup

ADJ

far, middle
I could just see the hills in the far distance
blue (literary)
The moors stretched away into the blue distance (= the sky)

DISTANCE + NOUN

learning
The Open University offers a wide range of distance learning programmes
vision
to have good distance vision

PREP

at a ~
At a distance it is difficult to make out the detail on the building
from a ~
We admired the palace from a distance
in the ~
In the distance was a small village

ADJ

critical, professional
emotional, psychological, social

VERB + DISTANCE

keep, maintain
She was warned to keep her distance from Charles if she didn't want to get hurt. Sociologists must maintain critical distance from the ideas of society at any particular time

PREP

~ from
He felt a sense of distance from the others

PHRASES

a sense of distance