long arm

American

noun

a long pole fitted with any of various devices, as a hook or clamp, for performing tasks otherwise out of reach.

long arm British

noun

power, esp far-reaching power

the long arm of the law
to reach out for something, as from a sitting position

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I was just about to dash over and lend the little fellow a helping hand when Jimbo let out a squall, darted over to the barrel, reached in with his long arm, caught the little monkey by the scruff of his neck, lifted him out, and set him down on the ground.

From Literature

“Only very, very few have managed to escape the long arm of the law for a long time.”

From Slate

“Our air force is our insurance policy. It is our long arm but also our quickest and most effective response to most situations,” said Eyal Hulata, former head of Israel’s National Security Council and now a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Unless those buyers can entirely evade the U.S. financial system and the long arm of the Treasury, transactions with the firms would place them in jeopardy.

From Barron's

The nation’s multilayered historical background has been variously stamped by a basic Arabic heritage, ineradicable remnants of protracted Ottoman Turkish rule and the long arm of the British colonial empire.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023