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distance

/ˈdɪst(ə)n(t)s/
nounverb

Distance meaning: space between points; DISTANCE scores 11 Scrabble points and has one full anagram, DANCIEST.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. An amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.

  2. Chiefly in from a distance: a place which is far away or remote; specifically (especially painting), a more remote part of a landscape or view as contrasted with the foreground.

  3. Chiefly with a modifying word: a measure between two points or quantities; a difference, a variance.

    “angular distance focal distance”

  4. An interval or length of time between events.

Verb 4 meanings

  1. Often followed by from: to set (someone or something) at a distance (noun sense 1.1) from someone or something else.

  2. To cause (a place, a thing, etc.) to seem distant, or (figurative) unfamiliar.

  3. To leave behind (someone or something moving in the same direction; specifically, other competitors in a race) some distance away; to outpace, to outstrip.

  4. To keep (someone) emotionally or socially apart from another person or people.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English distance, distaunce, destance (“disagreement, dispute; discrimination; armed conflict; hostility; trouble; space between two points; time interval”), from Anglo-Norman distance, distaunce, destance, Middle French distance, and Old French destance, destaunce, distaunce (“debate; difference, distinction; discord, quarrel; dispute; space between two points; time interval”) (modern French distance), and directly from their etymon Latin distantia (“difference, diversity; distance, remoteness; space between two points”) (whence also Late Latin distantia (“disagreement; discrepancy; gap, opening; time interval”)), from distāns (“being distant; standing apart”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).

Similar and opposite words

Similar
spreadalienationstandoffishnessunfriendlinessunsociablenessoutdistanceoutgallopoutrun

DISTANCE is an everyday eight-letter noun for the space between points, often geographical but not necessarily measured along a straight line. It also describes remoteness, as in “from a distance,” or a difference between quantities. The word is common in English, with an 11-point tile total, one full anagram, and no one-letter neighbours.

DISTANCE at a glance

  • DISTANCE is eight letters long and scores 11 points from its tiles.
  • D is worth 2 points; C is worth 3, while I, S, T, A, N, and E are worth 1 each.
  • DANCIEST is its sole full-length anagram.
  • The one-letter-neighbour count is zero.
  • Twelve rhymes share its final NCE, including since, chance, and science.

Distance meaning and everyday usage

The central meaning is the amount of space between points. Geographical distance often measures a route or separation, but the definition does not require a straight-line measurement. Two places can be described as a distance apart even when the route between them bends or follows a road.

Distance also names remoteness: “from a distance” points to a place or view far from the observer, especially in landscape description. In a more abstract use, it marks a difference or variance between quantities. The same noun covers physical separation, visual depth, and a gap in values.

Why does DISTANCE have no one-letter neighbours?

DANCIEST rearranges every letter in DISTANCE once, making the anagram a direct rack match rather than a shorter subset. Keep the C and D visible while sorting tiles: their 3- and 2-point values supply the word’s two largest letter contributions, while the other six tiles are worth 1 each.

The 11-point total is the face value before board premiums. Check whether C or D can land on a letter bonus, then consider whether the word crosses a premium word square; a bonus changes the score, not the base tile values. The ending NCE also gives a compact rhyme cue: since, once, chance, science, and difference appear in the rhyme set.

A zero-neighbour result means swapping one tile while holding the other seven fixed produces no matching word in this comparison. It does not mean the rack has no shorter playable words; those use fewer letters and are a different search.

Rhymes with distance

All rhymes

Questions people ask

Is DISTANCE a valid Scrabble word?
Yes, DISTANCE is playable in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE. Its tile total is 11 before any board bonuses. If your game uses a different lexicon, check that list before challenging; dictionary choice affects acceptance, not the printed letter values.
What is the anagram of DISTANCE?
DANCIEST is the only anagram of DISTANCE. It rearranges all eight letters once, including the 3-point C and 2-point D. That makes it a complete-letter anagram, not merely a shorter word assembled from part of the rack.
How many Scrabble points is DISTANCE worth?
DISTANCE scores 11 points from its tiles: D is worth 2, C is worth 3, and I, S, T, A, N, and E are worth 1 each. Board premiums can raise the play’s total, but the printed-tile value stays 11.

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