inning

American  

[in-ing] / ˈɪn ɪŋ /

noun

1. Baseball. a division of a game during which each team has an opportunity to score until three outs have been made against it.

2. a similar opportunity to score in certain other games, as horseshoes.

3. an opportunity for activity; a turn.

   Now the opposition will have its inning.

4. (used with a singular verb) innings,

   1. Cricket. a unit of play in which each team has a turn at bat, the turn of a team ending after ten players are put out or when the team declares.

   2. land reclaimed, especially from the sea.

5. the act of reclaiming marshy or flooded land.

6. enclosure, as of wasteland.

7. the gathering in of crops.

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inning British  

/ ˈɪnɪŋ /

noun

1. baseball a division of the game consisting of a turn at bat and a turn in the field for each side

2. archaic the reclamation of land from the sea

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Etymology

Origin of inning

before 900; Middle English inninge, Old English innung a getting in, equivalent to inn ( ian ) to go in + -ung -ing ¹

Explanation

Most baseball games are divided into nine innings. Each inning gives both teams a chance to be up at bat until they get three strikes. Cricket was the first sport to mark periods in innings, or "a team's turn in action during a game," emphasis on the in. While a cricket match can have four innings, the majority of baseball games have nine (though in the case of a tie, an unlimited number of extra innings can be added at the end of a game). At the start of each new inning (and half-inning), the teams switch places and the umpire yells, "Play ball!"

Example Sentences

Granada Hills 16, Taft 2: Dahlia Perez had a grand slam during a 15-run second inning.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Harvard-Westlake 14, Chaminade 11: It was a wild Mission League game that ended on a walk-off grand slam by Kale’a Tindal in the bottom of the ninth inning.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Before the bottom of the eighth inning, Evelyn went down to her usual post at the rail to try to persuade an outfielder to toss her a ball.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

When Liam Hicks drove the first pitch of the second inning into the lower stands just inside the right-field foul pole, it was the first run Glasnow had given up in his last 12 innings.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Putting them up one run at the top of the final inning.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• round
• shot
• stint
• stretch