inning

American  

[in-ing] / ˈɪn ɪŋ /

noun

• innings
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• innings
  plural

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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

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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!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inning innings

Milwaukee went ahead at the top of the second inning as a single from Cooper Pratt sent Brice Turang home, before they added another run in the fifth off a David Hamilton hit.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Milwaukee starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski left the game in the sixth inning and the Rays finally got on the scoreboard in the ninth as Chandler Simpson sent Liam Hicks home off a double.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

On Saturday, they did it again, rallying from 4-0 first inning deficit to win 5-4 and take a 2-0 Series lead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Ashby isn’t pitching one inning at a time, like so many of his peers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Schwartzie let five of their men come up to the plate that half inning and let one of those five score.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

“Geothermal is in the early innings of its own ‘shale revolution,’” the analysts wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Wilson said the correction that began in June is now in the final innings, with both the S&P 500 retreating as breadth improves.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

With the ball repeatedly getting soft as innings wore on, wicket-taking became more difficult.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

This series showed the benefit of the lower order batting time, sticking around for the top-order batters and stretching out an innings.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

The pitcher just did his best and knew he had to last nine innings.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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