Meaning & use
feature length
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
(of a film) long enough to be shown as the main item in a cinema, usually about 75 minutes or more.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: a feature-length documentary. It is not used after a verb.
Patterns
- feature-length film
- feature-length documentary
- feature-length drama
She spent three years making her first feature-length film.
The festival closed with a feature-length documentary about the ocean.
What began as a short student project grew into a feature-length movie.
noununcountable
the running time of a full-length cinema film, as opposed to a short one.
Grammar: Used after verbs like run or reach, often in the phrase 'to feature length'.
Patterns
- run to feature length
- reach feature length
The story was so rich that it soon ran to feature length.
Their latest animation finally reached feature length after two years of work.
Common combinations
- a feature-length film
- They are shooting a feature-length film in the old town this summer.
- feature-length documentary
- The channel showed a feature-length documentary about the war.
- run to feature length
- The script was short at first but later ran to feature length.
- feature-length debut
- Her feature-length debut won a prize at the festival.
- feature-length animation
- The studio is known for feature-length animation rather than short clips.
Synonyms and how they differ
- full-length
- Very close in meaning, but full-length also describes albums, books and coats, while feature length is mainly about films.
- big-screen
- Focuses on where a film is shown rather than how long it is, so it is not a true swap.
Opposites
Word family
- feature noun
- the main film in a cinema program, or an important part of something.
- featurette noun
- a short film, often about the making of a longer one.
Commonly confused: feature length or full length?
feature length vs full length
Full length is a general phrase for anything of normal or complete size; feature length is the film-industry term for cinema running time.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'feature length' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Feature-length' describes films long enough for cinema release and comes before the noun, as in 'feature-length drama'. The other options apply the term to meetings, books or races, where 'full-length' or 'long' would be used instead.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “feature length”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.