inning

American  

[in-ing] / ˈɪn ɪŋ /

noun

1. Baseball. a division of a game during which each team has an opportunity to score until three outs have been made against it.

2. a similar opportunity to score in certain other games, as horseshoes.

3. an opportunity for activity; a turn.

   Now the opposition will have its inning.

4. (used with a singular verb) innings,

   1. Cricket. a unit of play in which each team has a turn at bat, the turn of a team ending after ten players are put out or when the team declares.

   2. land reclaimed, especially from the sea.

5. the act of reclaiming marshy or flooded land.

6. enclosure, as of wasteland.

7. the gathering in of crops.

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inning British  

/ ˈɪnɪŋ /

noun

1. baseball a division of the game consisting of a turn at bat and a turn in the field for each side

2. archaic the reclamation of land from the sea

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Etymology

Origin of inning

before 900; Middle English inninge, Old English innung a getting in, equivalent to inn ( ian ) to go in + -ung -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Taft 9, Granada Hills 7: The Toreadors scored three runs in the ninth inning for a West Valley League win.

From Los Angeles Times

Webb led the National League in innings pitched for the third straight season.

From Los Angeles Times

But we don’t know if we are in the top of the third inning or the bottom of the ninth of the AI revolution.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I really do think we’re in the first half of the first inning.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Case in point: For the first time ever, this spring Freeman acknowledged that against his wishes, the Dodgers may not allow him to play every inning of every game.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• round
• shot
• stint
• stretch