inch
1 Americannoun
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a unit of length, 1/12 (0.0833) foot, equivalent to 2.54 centimeters. in.
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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)
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inches,
present (3rd person singular)
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inched,
past participle, past
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inching
present participle
idioms
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every inch, in every respect; completely.
That horse is every inch a thoroughbred.
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within an inch of, nearly; close to.
He came within an inch of getting killed in the crash.
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by inches,
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narrowly; by a narrow margin.
escaped by inches.
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Also inch by inch. by small degrees or stages; gradually.
The miners worked their way through the narrow shaft inch by inch.
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noun
noun
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a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot or 0.0254 metre
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meteorol
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an amount of precipitation that would cover a surface with water one inch deep
five inches of rain fell in January
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a unit of pressure equal to a mercury column one inch high in a barometer
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-
a very small distance, degree, or amount
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in every way; completely
he was every inch an aristocrat
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gradually; little by little
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very close to
verb
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to move or be moved very slowly or in very small steps
the car inched forward
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to defeat (someone) by a very small margin
noun
-
A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 1/12 of a foot (2.54 centimeters).
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See Table at measurement
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inchsimple
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inchessimple
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have inchedperfect
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has inchedperfect
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am inchingprogressive
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are inchingprogressive
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is inchingprogressive
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have been inchingperfect progressive
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has been inchingperfect progressive
Past
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inchedsimple
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had inchedperfect
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was inchingprogressive
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were inchingprogressive
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had been inchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inch1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English inch(e), unch(e), enche, Old English ynce, from Latin uncia “twelfth part, inch, ounce”; see origin at 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
Explanation
An inch is a small unit of measurement. Twelve inches makes one foot. You might get an inch of your hair cut off, or hem your jeans so they're an inch shorter. Some countries use centimeters and meters as units of measurement, but if you measure in inches, you can order a twelve inch pizza or print out three by five inch photos. When inch is used as a verb, it means "to creep slowly forward." The Old English version was ynce, from the Latin uncia, "a twelfth part."
Vocabulary lists containing inch
Measurement and Data, List 2
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Measurement and Data
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STAAR Grade 5 Mathematics: Measurement
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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:
Since the songs release, Star has said she would like to "roam every inch of Wales" and perhaps visit the Eisteddfod one day, as she enjoys learning more about Wales and the Welsh language.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Rain rates are probably going to be a quarter of an inch per hour or less, making debris flow and landslides unlikely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
As water, ice, and air move around the planet with the seasons, they redistribute enough weight to push the center of mass back and forth by fractions of an inch relative to Earth's geometric center.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
"We have fought so hard and we have had to use every inch of the system to get justice," she continued.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The drawing’s not large—about half a sheet of notebook paper—but every inch is covered in pale green whorls and squiggles.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
It measured an impressive 86.6 millimeters, or approximately 3.4 inches, excluding its tail, claws, and antennae.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Duo features the largest iPhone screen ever, at 7.6 inches, with prices starting at about $2,000 for 256 gigabytes of storage and exceeding $3,000 for two terabytes of storage.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
He became “one of the most recognizable writers to ever live,” but what most viewers didn’t know was that he stood only 5 feet 5 inches tall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Some places received 2 to 5 inches of rain, while others in Southern California got essentially no rain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
It’s licking my knees now, only inches from the boat’s rail, my mission just about complete.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Average loans and leases jumped 13.5% to $278.6 billion in the global wealth and investment management business, while in the consumer banking arm, average loans and leases inched up 0.2% to $321 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Meanwhile, European revenue declined just under 1%, while sales in the Asia-Pacific and Africa inched up 1%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Oil prices inched up following Monday's drop of almost two percent, though Saudi Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser, speaking after the G7 release, warned over global stockpiles.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The 10-year Treasury yield Tuesday inched slightly higher to 4.966%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Carefully he inched the door ajar—apart from a tiny squeak it swung effortlessly open.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Camarillo hit 99 degrees, inching past the previous record of 98 degrees set in 1953.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
One sweating plastic cup inching toward permanent damage.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Victory against Croatia's Hrgovic would put Itauma on the path to becoming the next big name in British heavyweight boxing, with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua inching closer to the end of their storied careers.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
With them inching closer to the city, Dezhyna and her parents are again thinking about whether they should flee to refuge, far from her beloved Izyum.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
So Kyle kept his right hand firmly planted on the right wall of shelves and started inching his way forward.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
