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Inroad is a combination of in and road, both of which are pretty mundane, as far as words go. But the first-and-oldest-meaning of inroad hints at a meaning of road other than the "way for traveling" one. Beginning back in the days of Old English, road referred to an armed hostile incursion made on horseback. (Raid comes from this use of road and also formerly specified incursions on horseback.) Road, as well as inroad, has lost its violent connotation. While inroads are often made at the expense of someone or something, they are at times simply advances, as when an artist is said to be "making inroads into a community."
Examples of inroad in a Sentence
Sean Stein Smith, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Xue has also gotten busier this year after sealing a partnership with Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo that has been making inroads into the Southeast Asian country.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 6 June 2025
James Cameron teamed up with Stability AI, one of the tech companies making inroads in Hollywood.
—Lila Shapiro, Vulture, 4 June 2025
Defense officials traveling with Hegseth, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media, called the absence of a higher-level Chinese delegation an opportunity for the U.S. to make inroads.
—David Rising, Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inroad
Cite this Entry
“Inroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inroad. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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