inning
Americannoun
-
Baseball. a division of a game during which each team has an opportunity to score until three outs have been made against it.
-
a similar opportunity to score in certain other games, as horseshoes.
-
an opportunity for activity; a turn.
Now the opposition will have its inning.
-
(used with a singular verb) innings,
-
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.
-
land reclaimed, especially from the sea.
-
-
the act of reclaiming marshy or flooded land.
-
enclosure, as of wasteland.
-
the gathering in of crops.
noun
-
baseball a division of the game consisting of a turn at bat and a turn in the field for each side
-
archaic the reclamation of land from the sea
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
Explanation
Most baseball games are divided into nine innings. Each inning gives both teams a chance to be up at bat until they get three strikes. Cricket was the first sport to mark periods in innings, or "a team's turn in action during a game," emphasis on the in. While a cricket match can have four innings, the majority of baseball games have nine (though in the case of a tie, an unlimited number of extra innings can be added at the end of a game). At the start of each new inning (and half-inning), the teams switch places and the umpire yells, "Play ball!"
Vocabulary lists containing inning
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.
The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Tinsley gave up her second home run of the afternoon in the third inning to make the score 5-2.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
South Carolina scored the game’s first run in the second inning, with right fielder Jamie MacKay hitting a home run off Taylor Tinsley.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
The fifth inning was a disaster for UCLA, nearly costing the Bruins the win.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
There was a force-out at first to end the inning.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
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.
