inch

¹

[inch]

noun

1. a unit of length, 1/12 (0.0833) foot, equivalent to 2.54 centimeters. in.

2. a very small amount of anything; narrow margin.

   to win by an inch;

   to avert disaster by an inch.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to move by inches or small degrees.

   We inched our way along the road.

inch

²

[inch]

noun

Scot.

1. a small island near the seacoast.

inch

¹

/ ɪntʃ /

noun

1. a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot or 0.0254 metre

2. meteorol

   1. an amount of precipitation that would cover a surface with water one inch deep

      five inches of rain fell in January

   2. a unit of pressure equal to a mercury column one inch high in a barometer

3. a very small distance, degree, or amount

4. in every way; completely

   he was every inch an aristocrat

5. gradually; little by little

6. very close to

verb

1. to move or be moved very slowly or in very small steps

   the car inched forward

2. to defeat (someone) by a very small margin

inch

²

/ ɪntʃ /

noun

1. a small island

inch

1. A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 1/12 of a foot (2.54 centimeters).

2. See Table at measurement

Word History and Origins

Origin of inch¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English inch(e), unch(e), enche, Old English ynce, from Latin uncia “twelfth part, inch, ounce”; ounce ¹

Origin of inch²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Scots Gaelic innse, genitive of innis “island,” Old Irish inis, cognate with Welsh ynys, Breton enez

Word History and Origins

Origin of inch¹

Old English ynce, from Latin uncia twelfth part; see _ounce ¹

Origin of inch²

C15: from Gaelic innis island; compare Welsh ynys

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. every inch, in every respect; completely.

   That horse is every inch a thoroughbred.

2. within an inch of, nearly; close to.

   He came within an inch of getting killed in the crash.

3. by inches,

   1. narrowly; by a narrow margin.

      escaped by inches.

   2. Also inch by inch. by small degrees or stages; gradually.

      The miners worked their way through the narrow shaft inch by inch.

More idioms and phrases containing inch

• by inches
• every inch
• give an inch
• within an ace (inch) of

Example Sentences

Burnaby was tall—6 feet 4 inches—and many said he was the strongest man in the British Army, capable of carrying a pony under each arm.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There really are duck-sized horses, with this therapy horse at just 21 inches high.

Read more on MarketWatch

The National Weather Service said the coastal storm could bring five to eight inches of snow to interior portions of the region.

Read more on Barron's

German inflation climbed in November, despite French inflation holding steady and inflation in Spain and Italy inching lower.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Like the men on the line, I pulled on white cotton gloves and, as the machine inched forward, began lifting watermelons from the ground, up onto the table above me where the packers waited.

Read more on Los Angeles Times