inbound

American

[in-baund] / ˈɪnˈbaʊnd /

adjective

inward bound.

inbound ships.

inbound British

/ ˈɪnˌbaʊnd /

adjective

coming in; inward bound

an inbound ship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of inbound

First recorded in 1890–95; in- ¹ + -bound ²

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:

inbound

The airport authorities in Italy's capital Rome said the hoax threat against two inbound flights received on Thursday had come by email.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The overall value of imports slipped 0.3% to C$72.3 billion even with a rise in inbound shipments of the type of processing units used in data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

At 20:05 on Saturday Jersey Airport said it was "experiencing disruption.... affecting inbound flights as a result of further drone activity in the vicinity of the airfield".

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

MC: We keep track of all the inbound leads that we have every time we have a partner meeting, which is every week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

“The ships were all westbound, all inbound for Cuba,” McCone said.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023