inch by inch

phrase

: very gradually or slowly

Examples of inch by inch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The water level of a major reservoir supplying the bustling capital city of Jakarta -- the world's biggest metropolis -- is dropping inch by inch. — Edna Tarigan, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026

Perfecting the work inch by inch, writing from the first word toward the last, displays the courage and fear this method induces. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2026

For others, like jewelry, Yamada has to use a pinpoint metal detector, searching the mud inch by inch. — Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

The museum could clip the tapestry to a rail, then feed it into the paravent inch by inch; when the whole thing was transferred, the huge zigzag could be folded up—with the tapestry secured between layers of padding—then turned on its side. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1700, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inch by inch

• bullfinch
• goldfinch
• cinch
• finch
• flinch
• lynch
• pinch
• synch
• winch