inroad
Americannoun
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a damaging or serious encroachment.
inroads on our savings.
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a sudden hostile or predatory incursion; raid; foray.
noun
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an invasion or hostile attack; raid or incursion
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an encroachment or intrusion
Etymology
Origin of inroad
Explanation
When you make an inroad, you advance into new territory. An attacking army might try to make an inroad into a neighboring country, for example. Intruding in another's space or advancing into a previously inaccessible area are both examples of inroads. The word is most often used in its plural form, like when your history teacher talks about the great inroads women have made politically in the past fifty years. The noun inroad was originally used only to talk about military movement, describing armies making hostile raids. The road part of inroad evolved from the word ride, so the word comes from "riding in."
Vocabulary lists containing inroad
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Uglies
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United States v. Nixon (1974)
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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.
“Millions of dollars have been spent on ranges, tracking dogs, cameras, helicopters, fancy alarms and fences, and none of it was bending the curve or making a significant inroad in reducing poaching,” Kuiper said.
From Salon • Jun. 16, 2025
Sale had moments of possession but they conceded eight turnovers and failed to make an inroad on the scoreboard as De Wet and Venter scored further tries for Stormers.
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2025
"The generation of human neurons in a dish from stem cells provides a unique inroad into the study of brain health and disease," the journal editors note in a research briefing that accompanied the study.
From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2024
Jackson may not live in Los Angeles anymore, but her memories of these dead-end streets provided a surprising inroad into how intimacy is still a very abstract construct.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2023
It gives me a fullness in my blood vessels, and is such an inroad on my habits that I would greatly prefer being at home.
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.
