inlet

[in-let, -lit, in-let, in-let]

noun

1. an indentation of a shoreline, usually long and narrow; small bay or arm.

2. a narrow passage between islands.

3. a place of admission; entrance.

4. something put in or inserted.

verb (used with object)

inlet, inletting 

1. to put in; insert.

inlet

noun

1. a narrow inland opening of the coastline

2. an entrance or opening

3. the act of letting someone or something in

4. something let in or inserted

5. 1. a passage, valve, or part through which a substance, esp a fluid, enters a device or machine

   2. ( as modifier )

      an inlet valve

verb

1. (tr) to insert or inlay

Word History and Origins

Origin of inlet¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; in, let ¹

Example Sentences

Tomales Bay is a long inlet off the Pacific, about 15 miles long and a mile wide.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ireland has almost 2,000 miles of coastline, much of it ideal for smuggling, with many hundreds of isolated inlets.

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The quarantine area extends along the California coastline from Oregon to the Mexican border — including all bays, inlets and harbors in Los Angeles County, according to public health officials.

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On Monday HM Coastguard said some were beginning to wash up around The Wash – a large inlet of the North Sea stretching from just south of Skegness to near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

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The Wash is a large inlet of the North Sea stretching from south of Skegness, in Lincolnshire, to near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

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Related Words

• basin 
• estuary 
• fjord