into

American  

[in-too, in-too, -tuh] / ˈɪn tu, ˈɪn tʊ, -tə /

preposition

1. to the inside of; in toward.

   He walked into the room. The train chugged into the station.

2. toward or in the direction of.

   going into town.

3. to a point of contact with; against.

   backed into a parked car.

4. (used to indicate insertion or immersion in).

   plugged into the socket.

5. (used to indicate entry, inclusion, or introduction in a place or condition).

   received into the church.

6. to the state, condition, or form assumed or brought about.

   went into shock; lapsed into disrepair; translated into another language.

7. to the occupation, action, possession, circumstance, or acceptance of.

   went into banking; coerced into complying.

8. (used to indicate a continuing extent in time or space).

   lasted into the night; far into the distance.

9. (used to indicate the number to be divided by another number).

   2 into 20 equals 10.

10. Informal. interested or absorbed in, especially obsessively.

    She's into yoga and gardening.

11. Slang. in debt to.

    I'm into him for ten dollars.

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adjective

1. Mathematics. pertaining to a function or map from one set to another set, the range of which is a proper subset of the second set, as the function f, from the set of all integers into the set of all perfect squares where f (x ) = x 2 for every integer.

into British  

/ ˈɪntuː, ˈɪntə /

preposition

1. to the interior or inner parts of

   to look into a case

2. to the middle or midst of so as to be surrounded by

   into the water

   into the bushes

3. against; up against

   he drove into a wall

4. used to indicate the result of a transformation or change

   he changed into a monster

5. maths used to indicate a dividend

   three into six is two

6. informal interested or enthusiastically involved in

   I'm really into Freud these days

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into Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing into

• be into

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Etymology

Origin of into

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English; in + to

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

into

In 1972, mysterious mafia members came into the restaurant to ask Tana to procure early-screening tickets for “The Godfather.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Police Scotland previously said its inquiries into Henry's complaint were ongoing.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

How rainfall seeps into cracks can also build up pressure and lead to collapses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Cliff height, wave action, the type of rock and the slope of the beach could all factor into a cliff’s stability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

To bring them into balance, Dr. Harlow prescribes two powerful drugs—an "emetic" to make Phineas throw up and a "purgative," a powerful laxative, to evacuate his bowels.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Related Words

• in the direction of