inch 1 of 2

noun

ˈinch How to pronounce inch (audio)
Definition of inchnext
1
as in step
a very small distance or degree give them an inch, and they'll take a mile

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stage
an individual part of a process, series, or ranking inch by inch, we're making progress toward our fund-raising goal

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3
as in height
inches plural the distance of something or someone from bottom to top made the most of her inches by standing on her tiptoes to reach the top shelf

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inch

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to encroach
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits every year the water inches further up the embankments, threatening to permanently engulf the island city

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2
as in to drag
to move slowly the car inched carefully across the snow-covered causeway

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inch
Noun
The central Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Tallahassee, Florida, could receive 2 to 5 inches of rain Friday to Sunday. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Early forecasts predict that the Panhandle could see several inches of rain later this week. — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
Thomas County Central inched up in the national rankings and Lee County took a tumble after the two South Georgia powerhouses met in Leesburg last week. — Chip Saye, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026 The Astros inched closer to getting a new stadium in downtown Houston 30 years ago this month. — J.r. Gonzales, Houston Chronicle, 27 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inch
  1. step
  2. stage
  3. height
  4. encroach
  5. drag
  6. neck
  7. chapter
  8. crawl
Noun
  • Modern use of accelerators in physics The developments Cockcroft and Walton made marked the first step toward widespread use of particle accelerators, which continues today.
    — Andrea Richard, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Staff skipped the sanitizing step when washing cutting boards at the meat prep table.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of step
Noun
  • Every stage of a deal is exciting in its own way, but a few elements stand out.
    — Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • This helps all stages of the ecosystem, from the Uppsala spinout behind Leqembi, one of the first drugs to slow Alzheimer’s, through to Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca whose largest factory is in Södertälje.
    — Jan Larsson, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of stage
Noun
  • Philbrick, a seasoned and popular chronicler of the American past, is equally concerned with those who got trampled by the rush as with those who rode it to astonishing heights of wealth and influence.
    — Richard Kreitner, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Building 1 offers a clear ceiling height of up to 25 feet at the peak, while building 2 provides approximately 18 feet of clear height.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of height
Verb
  • Wildfires encroached on major European cities, a once unthinkable threat.
    — Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Against encroaching social upheavals, the sovereign was resolutely the center of a mercantilist universe.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of encroach
Verb
  • Oil prices have stayed above $100 per barrel as the Middle East conflict dragged on with few signs of a diplomatic off-ramp.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But as the weeks dragged on, and the talks between the companies continued, Ellison and his team felt that they were not being taken seriously, and that WBD was preferencing other bidders.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of drag
Noun
  • The set featured a baby T-shirt with short sleeves and a high, round neck.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • According to the Public Defender's Office, officers falsely claimed that Gibson had assaulted them by biting, punching, and wrapping a radio cord around an officer's neck, claims later refuted by video evidence.
    — Senior Editor, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of neck
Noun
  • Hilton is scheduled to speak on Monday to a chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ group, at a brewery in Palm Desert.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • For this new chapter in Britain, the son of King Charles III and his family have made their home in the Cotswolds, an idyllic region west of London that is popular with celebrities and the otherwise well-to-do.
    — Séraphine Roger, Vanity Fair, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of chapter
Verb
  • Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In real-world tests, the hand crawled across 14 different surfaces including smooth floors, metal grates, grass, and gravel.
    — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawl

Phrases Containing inch

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incestuous
inch
in charge
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Cite this Entry

“Inch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inch. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on inch

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about inch

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