Adjacent Words

Inch definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INCH, n. [L. uncia, the twelfth part.]
1. A lineal measure in Great Britain and the United States, being the twelfth part of a foot,and equal to the length of three barley corns.
2. Proverbially, a small quantity or degree; as, to die by inches, to gain ground by inches.
3. A precise point of time.
Beldame, I think, we watch'd you at an inch. [Unusual.]
INCH, v.t. To drive by inches or small degrees. [Little used.]
1. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [Little used.]
INCH, v.i. To advance or retire by small degrees. [Little used.]
Inched, is added to words of number; as four-inched. But in American the common practice is to add only inch; as a seven-inch cable.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot [syn: inch, in]
2: a unit of measurement for advertising space [syn: column inch, inch] v
1: advance slowly, as if by inches; "He edged towards the car" [syn: edge, inch]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ynce, from Latin uncia — more at ounce Date: before 12th century 1. a unit of length equal to 1/36 yard — see weight table 2. a small amount, distance, or degree <is like cutting a dog's tail off by inches — Milton Friedman> 3. plural stature, height 4. a. a fall (as of rain or snow) sufficient to cover a surface or to fill a gauge to the depth of one inch b. a degree of atmospheric or other pressure sufficient to balance the weight of a column of liquid (as mercury) one inch high in a barometer or manometer 5. a small advantage especially from lenient or compassionate treatment — usually used in the phrase give an inch II. verb Date: 1599 intransitive verb to move by small degrees ; progress slowly <the long line of people inching up the stairs> transitive verb to cause to move slowly <sooner or later they begin inching prices back up — Forbes> III. noun Etymology: Middle English (Scots), from Scottish Gaelic innis Date: 15th century chiefly Scottish island

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a unit of linear measure equal to one-twelfth of a foot (2.54 cm). 2 a (as a unit of rainfall) a quantity that would cover a horizontal surface to a depth of 1 inch. b (of atmospheric or other pressure) an amount that balances the weight of a column of mercury 1 inch high. 3 (as a unit of map-scale) so many inches representing 1 mile on the ground (a 4-inch map). 4 a small amount (usu. with neg.: would not yield an inch). --v.tr. & intr. move gradually in a specified way (inched forward). Phrases and idioms: every inch 1 entirely (looked every inch a queen). 2 the whole distance or area (combed every inch of the garden). give a person an inch and he or she will take a mile (or orig. an ell) a person once conceded to will demand much. inch by inch gradually; bit by bit. within an inch of almost to the point of. Etymology: OE ynce f. L uncia twelfth part: cf. OUNCE(1) 2. n. esp. Sc. a small island (esp. in place-names). Etymology: ME f. Gael. innis

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inch Inch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inched; p. pr. & vb. n. Inching.] 1. To drive by inches, or small degrees. [R.] He gets too far into the soldier's grace And inches out my master. --Dryden. 2. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [R.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inch Inch, n. [Gael. inis.] An island; -- often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inchcolm, Inchkeith, etc. [Scot.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inch Inch, n. [OE. inche, unche, AS. ynce, L. uncia the twelfth part, inch, ounce. See Ounce a weight.] 1. A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barleycorns, its length supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. It is also sometimes called a prime ('), composed of twelve seconds (''), as in the duodecimal system of arithmetic.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inch Inch, v. i. To advance or retire by inches or small degrees; to move slowly. With slow paces measures back the field, And inches to the walls. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inch Inch, a. Measurement an inch in any dimension, whether length, breadth, or thickness; -- used in composition; as, a two-inch cable; a four-inch plank. Inch stuff, boards, etc., sawed one inch thick.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(inches, inching, inched) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. An inch is an imperial unit of length, approximately equal to 2.54 centimetres. There are twelve inches in a foot. ...18 inches below the surface. N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n 2. To inch somewhere or to inch something somewhere means to move there very slowly and carefully, or to make something do this. ...a climber inching up a vertical wall of rock... He inched the van forward... An ambulance inched its way through the crowd. VERB: V prep/adv, V n prep/adv, V way prep/adv 3. If you say that someone looks every inch a certain type of person, you are emphasizing that they look exactly like that kind of person. He looks every inch the City businessman... PHRASE: v-link PHR n [emphasis] 4. If someone or something moves inch by inch, they move very slowly and carefully. The car moved forward inch by inch... PHRASE: PHR after v [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Twelfth part of a foot.

Moby Thesaurus

ace, amble, bit, bowshot, brief span, claudicate, close quarters, close range, crack, crawl, creep, crowd, dogtrot, drag, drag along, drag out, drive on, earreach, earshot, forge ahead, go dead slow, go on tiptoe, go slow, grovel, gumshoe, gunshot, hair, hair space, hairbreadth, hairsbreadth, hobble, idle, inch along, inch forward, jog-trot, laze, limp, little, little ways, mosey, muddle through, nightwalk, pad, pistol shot, poke, poke along, press forward, press on, prowl, push, push forward, push on, pussyfoot, saunter, scrabble, scramble, short distance, short piece, short way, shuffle along, sidle, slink, snake, sneak, span, spitting distance, stagger along, steal, steal along, step, stroll, tippytoe, tiptoe, toddle, toddle along, totter along, traipse, waddle, walk, worm, worm along