Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⏳ For a long time ⏳ An endless period
forever and a day

forever and a day

1 5.3
For a very long time with no clear end
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : para siempre
  • I will wait for you forever and a day if I have to.

Examples

  • I will love you forever and a day.

    Blog text (34)

  • I love you forever and a day, honey pie.

    Blog text (18)

  • Forever and a day.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • FOREVER AND A DAY

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I cannot deny it; forever and a day I'll be a transplanted Northerner, never a true Virginian, and I fear there are those who will believe that because of my lack of authentic origins, I also lack the credentials to chronicle the history of certain native Virginians I have come to know about.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • She promised to love him forever and a day, no matter what happens.

  • The memories of that trip will stay with me forever and a day.

Synonyms

forever
vsforever and a day
∞ 1.0

For all time without end

is the longer idiomatic form that stresses very extended time
a long time
vsforever and a day
∞ 1.0

A period that lasts much longer than usual

expresses an apparently without end or far longer duration than this general term
indefinitely
vsforever and a day
104 4.8

For a time with no set end

means very long time but implies seeming without an end rather than mere unknown length
endlessly
vsforever and a day
73 2.3

Without stopping for a very long time

focuses on long duration rather than unbroken continuous action
eternally
vsforever and a day
53 5.2

For all time without end

suggests very long time seeming without an end rather than literal finality
in perpetuity
vsforever and a day
  • Formal
16 7.8

A time that lasts forever

is the everyday phrase for a very long, seemingly without end time
forevermore
vsforever and a day
  • Archaic
8 6.8

Always from now on

describes a very long, seemingly without end time but without starting point
ad infinitum
vsforever and a day
  • Formal
7 8.8

Going on forever without any limit

is the common phrasing that stresses very long, seemingly without end duration
evermore
vsforever and a day
  • Archaic
3 8.9

Continues for all future time

is a general phrase for very long time not limited to poetry
until the cows come home
vsforever and a day
  • Informal
3 8.5

For a very long time that seems to never end

is the neutral phrase for long duration, not informal or idiomatic
as the day is long
vsforever and a day
  • Informal
3 7.7

For a very long time or to a very great degree

means long duration but does not stress degree or intensity
interminably
vsforever and a day
2 7.6

In a way that goes on for a very long time with no end in sight

describes very long time but not necessarily the boring, ceaseless sense
until hell freezes over
vsforever and a day
  • Informal
1 9.5

For a very long time, often to say something will never happen

is the general long duration phrase rather than indicating impossibility
everlastingly
vsforever and a day
1 7.4

In a way that lasts forever

implies long lasting time but frames it as seemingly without end
until kingdom come
vsforever and a day
  • Informal
8.6

For a very long time, possibly forever

is the straightforward term for long duration without the idiomatic tone

Antonyms

moment
∞ 1.0

A very short time or a particular point in time

fleeting
66 6.3

Lasting only a short time

How Long

forever and a day
  • Archaic
1 5.3
forever
∞ 1.0
a long time
∞ 1.0
for a while
∞ 1.0
briefly
414 1.0

Surface Forms

forever and a day positive

Morphology

forever + and + a + day

The core meaning ('for a very long time') is directly signalled by 'forever' and the phrase 'and a day' functions as an emphatic additive, so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer an intensified duration. However, the construction is a conventionalized hyperbolic idiom whose emphatic force is partly idiomatic rather than purely compositional, so full understanding relies on exposure.

Etymology

Forever and a day may come from a poetic idea of adding one extra day to forever, like someone promising to love you forever and then insisting on one more day. That's why it means 'for a very long time'.