student asking question

What's the difference between "longer" and "wider"? Are they interchangeable in this context?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Wider" means having a larger distance from one side to the other than is usual or expected. "Longer" means a distance between two points that is more than normal. In this scenario, I do not think they would be interchangeable. Ex: My car is wider than his. Ex: Her hair is way longer than mine. Ex: The Amazon river is wider than the Nile river. It's actually the widest river in the world. Ex: He's been in school longer than her.

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