incline
Americanverb (used without object)
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inclines,
present (3rd person singular)
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inclined,
past participle, past
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inclining
present participle
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to deviate from the vertical or horizontal; slant.
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to have a mental tendency, preference, etc.; be disposed.
We incline to rest and relaxation these days.
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to tend, in a physical sense; approximate.
The flowers incline toward blue.
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to tend in character or in course of action.
a political philosophy that inclines toward the conservative.
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to lean; bend.
verb (used with object)
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inclines,
present (3rd person singular)
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inclined,
past participle, past
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inclining
present participle
-
to dispose (a person) in mind, habit, etc. (usually followed byto ).
His attitude did not incline me to help him.
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to bow, nod, or bend (the head, body, etc.).
He inclined his head in greeting.
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to cause to lean or bend in a particular direction.
noun
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inclines
plural
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an inclined surface; slope; slant.
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Railroads.
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Also called incline plane. Also called inclined plane. a cable railroad, the gradient of which is approximately 45°.
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any railroad or portion of a railroad, the gradient of which is too steep for ordinary locomotive adhesion alone to be effective.
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Mining.
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an angled shaft following a dipping vein.
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an inclined haulageway.
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idioms
verb
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to deviate or cause to deviate from a particular plane, esp a vertical or horizontal plane; slope or slant
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to be disposed or cause to be disposed (towards some attitude or to do something)
he inclines towards levity
that does not incline me to think that you are right
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to bend or lower (part of the body, esp the head), as in a bow or in order to listen
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to listen favourably (to)
noun
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an inclined surface or slope; gradient
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short for inclined railway
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inclinesimple
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inclinessimple
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have inclinedperfect
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has inclinedperfect
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am incliningprogressive
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are incliningprogressive
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is incliningprogressive
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have been incliningperfect progressive
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has been incliningperfect progressive
Past
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inclinedsimple
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had inclinedperfect
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was incliningprogressive
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were incliningprogressive
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had been incliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incline
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English inclinen, from Latin inclīnāre, equivalent to in- in- 2 + -clīnāre “to bend” ( see lean 1); replacing Middle English enclinen, from Middle French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Something that slopes — that is, something that deviates from the straight horizontal or vertical — can be called an incline. If you like to walk up and down hills, you enjoy walking on inclines. The Latin root of the word incline is inclinare, meaning "to lean." As a verb, the word incline can mean to bend, so you incline your head. It can also mean to be favorably disposed toward something and you can think of it as having a bent for or leaning toward something. If the weather is nasty, you may be inclined to stay home to watch a movie with a bowl of popcorn at your side.
Vocabulary lists containing incline
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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The One and Only Ivan
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Chains
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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:
The stress and emotional aftermath they’re each facing is a tightrope walk … with an incline.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
"I spoke about Paris being a reference point where hopefully we'll see a pretty steep incline in terms of performances," said Doris.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
I’m doing heavy resistance training, or I’m doing incline walking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
We trekked up a steep incline to quickly discover signs for white oil bubbling out of the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
There was one great peak ahead of them; the incline was steady at first—rock and grass and lichen—and then steep, in sharp jags.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Mr. Waterfield inclines toward Hobbes’s “they that have odds of power exact as much as they can, and the weak yield to such conditions as they can get.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
There are a couple of entr’actes in which the clown, teased by his former supervisor, inclines toward the Grinchy.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
With a bit of coding, researchers were able to describe the optimal technique for pumping — a tactic where skateboarders crouch down low momentarily and then push their body upright on inclines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2024
He is rarity - as a mountainous country Eritrea mostly produces "climbers", cyclists who race especially well on steep inclines.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2024
Our host glides to the table and inclines her head.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
"This is a time when we really need to hear what's happening," Erik Slavin said, adding that Pentagon officials appeared to be "less and less inclined to speak on the record".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Other apps might even be inclined to deploy a sunny icon, because technically it is going to be warm in most of that area, and watery only in a different section.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Voters were asked whether each label made them more inclined or less inclined to back a given candidate, or if they believed there was not much difference or had no opinion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Our critic raved that “Both indoors and out, Porter proved that there was beauty where one was inclined to behold it. This show is an invaluable opportunity to do just that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
He kept his eyes on hers and inclined his face slightly.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
The young woman in the sepia-toned photograph curtsies gracefully, inclining her head and smiling sweetly at the camera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2022
The sickening realization of the Titanic's imminent fate came when Jessop turned to say something to a fellow stewardess and saw that the "forward part" of the ship was inclining toward the dark ocean.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
She would like to see changes, inclining a Senedd creche, the introduction of job shares and an increase in the number of MSs to decrease workload.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2021
The rig pitched to the south, away from the beach, her derrick cutting obliquely across the sky and her helipad inclining at an angle that to the human eye read as almost apologetic.
From The Guardian ● May 2, 2017
He held out his hand, inclining his head.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions 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.
