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inch1

Pronunciation: /ɪn(t)ʃ/

Translate inch | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of inch

noun

  • 1a unit of linear measure equal to one twelfth of a foot (2.54 cm):the toy train is four inches long eighteen inches of thread
  • (inches) informal a person’s height or waist measurement:my only reservation is the goalkeeper’s lack of inches
  • [often with negative] a very small amount or distance:I had no intention of budging an inch
  • 2a unit used to express other quantities, in particular:
  • (as a unit of rainfall) a quantity that would cover a horizontal surface to a depth of one inch, equivalent to 253.7 cubic metres per hectare: more than four inches of rain is expected
  • (also inch of mercury) (as a unit of atmospheric pressure) an amount that would support a column of mercury one-inch high in a barometer (equal to 33.86 millibars, 29.5 inches being equal to one bar).
  • (as a unit of map scale) so many inches representing one mile on the ground: [in combination]:one-inch maps of the east Midland counties

verb

[no object, with adverbial of direction]
  • move along slowly and carefully:he inched away as I approached figurativeSpain’s conservatives are inching ahead
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] cause (something) to move slowly and carefully:he inched the car forward

Phrases

by inches

only just:the shot missed her by inches

every inch

  • 1the whole surface, distance, or area:between them they know every inch of the country
  • 2entirely; very much so:he’s every inch the gentleman

give someone an inch and he (or she) will take a mile

proverb once concessions have been made to someone they will demand a great deal: she stared back at him, refusing to give him an inch

inch by inch

gradually: inch by inch he crept along the wall

within an inch of

very close to:her mouth was within an inch of his chin

(to) within an inch of one's life

almost to the point of death:he was beaten within an inch of his life

Origin:

late Old English ynce, from Latin uncia 'twelfth part', from unus 'one' (probably denoting a unit). Compare with ounce1

inch in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of inch in the US English dictionary

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