inlet
Americannoun
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inlets
plural
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an indentation of a shoreline, usually long and narrow; small bay or arm.
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a narrow passage between islands.
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a place of admission; entrance.
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something put in or inserted.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a narrow inland opening of the coastline
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an entrance or opening
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the act of letting someone or something in
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something let in or inserted
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a passage, valve, or part through which a substance, esp a fluid, enters a device or machine
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( as modifier )
an inlet valve
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verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inlet
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at in, let 1
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:
New Smyrna Beach is a surf break near a fish-rich inlet that attracts sharks, leading to bites, said Naylor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
That's because fish have to swim within two metres of the pipe inlet heads, and the estuary is 22km wide at that point.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
First, the pipes will be fed by new wide inlet heads, which slow the water so that fish are not sucked in.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney however expressed dismay that he had only heard about the tanker being in the Scottish inlet of Moray Firth via media reports.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
We came to a shallow blind inlet ringed by a thick fringe of mossy green growth.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
“Rip currents are typically more frequent and stronger in the vicinity of jetties, inlets, and piers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2025
“All inlets were delivered as designed with all required hardware,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
Suddenly, at the beach, there was life everywhere: fish frothing in the surf, fish flooding inlets.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024
In order to do so, it has requested a temporary exemption from safety rules recently introduced to prevent anti-icing systems from causing potentially catastrophic damage to engine inlets.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024
Lefty grew familiar with the shoreline of the Detroit River, its screened inlets and secret landings.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
She was about to reach and, as Ab supposed, pass one of the inletting paths entering almost at right angles from the left.
From The Story of Ab A Tale of the Time of the Cave Man by Stanley Waterloo
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.
