in

 
Pronunciation: /ɪn/

preposition

  • 1expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else: I’m living in London dressed in their Sunday best she saw the bus in the rear-view mirror
  • expressing motion with the result that something ends up within or surrounded by something else: don’t put coal in the bath he got in his car and drove off
  • 2expressing a period of time during which an event happens or a situation remains the case: they met in 1885 at one o’clock in the morning I hadn’t seen him in years
  • 3expressing the length of time before a future event is expected to happen: I’ll see you in fifteen minutes
  • 4(often followed by a noun without a determiner) expressing a state or condition: to be in love I’ve got to put my affairs in order a woman in her thirties
  • indicating the quality or aspect with respect to which a judgement is made: no discernible difference in quality
  • 5expressing inclusion or involvement: I read it in a book acting in a film
  • 6indicating someone’s occupation or profession: she works in publishing
  • 7indicating the language or medium used: say it in French put it in writing
  • indicating the key in which a piece of music is written: Mozart’s Piano Concerto in E flat
  • 8 [with verbal noun] as an integral part of (an activity): in planning public expenditure it is better to be prudent
  • 9expressing a value as a proportion of (a whole): a local income tax running at six pence in the pound

adverb

  • 1expressing movement with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else: come in presently the admiral breezed in
  • 2expressing the situation of being enclosed or surrounded by something: we were locked in
  • 3expressing arrival: the train got in very late
  • 4(of the tide) rising or at its highest level.

adjective

  • 1 [predic.] present at one’s home or office: we knocked at the door but there was no one in
  • 2 informal fashionable: pastels and light colours are in this year the in thing to do
  • 3 [predic.] (of the ball in tennis and similar games) landing within the designated playing area.
  • 4 [predic.] Cricket batting: which side is in?

Phrases

be in for

have good reason to expect (something, typically something unpleasant): she’s in for a shock
(be in for it) have good reason to expect trouble or retribution.

have (got) it in for

see have.

in all

see all.

in and out of

being a frequent visitor to (a house) or frequent inmate of (an institution): they were in and out of each other’s houses all day he was in and out of jail for most of his twenties

in on

privy to (a secret).

in so far as

see far.

in that

for the reason that: I was fortunate in that I had friends

in with

informal on friendly terms with: the Krays were in with a couple of MPs

the ins and outs

informal all the details.

Origin:

Old English in (preposition), inn, inne (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German in (preposition), German ein (adverb), from an Indo-European root shared by Latin in and Greek en