inch

¹ American  

[inch] / ɪntʃ /

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

inches, present (3rd person singular) inched, past participle, past inching present participle

1. to move by inches or small degrees.

   We inched our way along the road.

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.

inch ² American  

[inch] / ɪntʃ /

noun

Scot.

1. a small island near the seacoast.

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inch ¹ British  

/ ɪntʃ /

noun

1. a small island

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inch ² British  

/ 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

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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 Scientific  

/ ĭnch /

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

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inch More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing inch

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• inching
  present
• inched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• inch
  simple
• inches
  simple
• have inched
  perfect
• has inched
  perfect
• am inching
  progressive
• are inching
  progressive
• is inching
  progressive
• have been inching
  perfect progressive
• has been inching
  perfect progressive

Past

• inched
  simple
• had inched
  perfect
• was inching
  progressive
• were inching
  progressive
• had been inching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will inch
  simple
• will have inched
  perfect
• will be inching
  progressive
• will have been inching
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inch inches inched inching

Bumblebees may be small, measuring only about an inch long, but they play an enormous role in global agriculture.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

The mountain thunderstorms are expected to continue Monday and Tuesday but should be accompanied by wetting rains that dampen fire risk, with about a tenth of an inch of precipitation, Molina said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The timers’ skittishness suggests that their optimism is a mile wide but only an inch deep.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Mexico and Canada that every inch of their sponsors’ branding had to be removed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Mrs. Clarke had been quite right to notice how much the Incorrigibles had grown—less than a year had passed, and already Alexander had gained an inch and a half.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Cooper estimated YG was approximately 6 feet 1 inch or 6 feet 2 inches tall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Cooper described the weapon he attributed to YG as a silver blade approximately three or four inches long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Bertha was expected to produce 2 to 4 inches of rainfall, with isolated totals around 6 inches, through Thursday, from western Florida into southern Louisiana, making flash flooding possible especially in urban areas.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

This week, water levels at Kaub—the closely watched water gauge at the shallow stretch of the Rhine downstream from Naegler’s winery—fell below 50 centimeters, or almost 20 inches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The smallest ones were sixteen inches in diameter and twenty feet long.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan inched up this week to 6.49%, adding to the affordability crunch many prospective home buyers are feeling.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The 30-year mortgage rate inched up by 6 basis points on Thursday, to 6.49%, on the back of renewed tensions with Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Thursday’s data showed underemployment inched higher to 5.9% in May from 5.8% in April, but remains some way below the 8.3% seen in late 2019 prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Average return on Japanese household financial assets has inched up from 1% to 1.7%, he says.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

Gusts of wind crashed into the bus like ocean waves as they inched along in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Rescue teams from seven countries are inching towards a man who survived the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days ago.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Shares in Avis are still trading higher than when the short squeeze began, with the stock inching higher in premarket trading Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

“I like that we’re inching it forward just a little bit. ‘Game of Thrones’ in 2026,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

His 18 colleagues in the leadership of the Fed and the 11 other voting members of the rate-setting committee appear to be inching close to rate hikes, to battle persistent inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 14, 2026

The realization flowed thick and slow through me, inching its way to my guts.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken