inlet
Americannoun
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inlets
plural
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an indentation of a shoreline, usually long and narrow; small bay or arm.
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a narrow passage between islands.
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a place of admission; entrance.
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something put in or inserted.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a narrow inland opening of the coastline
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an entrance or opening
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the act of letting someone or something in
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something let in or inserted
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a passage, valve, or part through which a substance, esp a fluid, enters a device or machine
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( as modifier )
an inlet valve
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verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inlet
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at in, let 1
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.
See Examples For:
Hundreds of workers at Hinkley Point C are sheltered from the heat by thick concrete, like this water inlet.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
New Smyrna Beach is a surf break near a fish-rich inlet that attracts sharks, leading to bites, said Naylor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Older power stations have simply placed a grill across the inlet pipes, filtering out fish, which are killed in the process.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney however expressed dismay that he had only heard about the tanker being in the Scottish inlet of Moray Firth via media reports.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
Hamilton turned north and we followed them across the inlet.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
Another entry point is the 400-mile Guadalquivir River, a labyrinthine waterway of channels and inlets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The whales feast all summer long, and only then embark on a 6,000-mile journey south to Mexico, where females calve and nurse their young in the warm and protected inlets along the Baja Peninsula.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2024
Those seals are installed by the supplier of the inlets: Collins Aerospace, now part of RTX, formerly known as Raytheon.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
The car was packed with innovations, including its vertical sidepod air inlets and the big, broad tunnels running back from the cockpit sides.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2024
Rivers and inlets from the sea provide an easy route for incoming waves, carrying tsunamis much farther inland than they could otherwise travel.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
She was about to reach and, as Ab supposed, pass one of the inletting paths entering almost at right angles from the left.
From The Story of Ab A Tale of the Time of the Cave Man by Stanley Waterloo
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
