by inches

idiom

: by a small amount, distance, or degree
The bullet missed my head by inches.

Examples of by inches in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web To get down to an interior volume of just below 3,000 gross tons and still keep to the owner’s wish list, the designers focused on shaving the interior’s measurements—sometimes reducing headroom by inches on specific areas. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2023 After narrowly missing a bases-clearing double by inches, Chapman grounded into an inning-ending double play on the very next pitch. Ryan Morik, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2023 In the investigator’s report, two witnesses recalled him punting a basketball toward a group of players, missing one woman’s head by inches. Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Sep. 2023 Tom Courtney, a Fordham University graduate who with a homestretch surge and a lunge at the tape won a furious 800-meter run by inches in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, capturing the gold medal for the United States, died Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Naples, Fla. Frank Litsky, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023 Tom Courtney, a Fordham University graduate who with a homestretch surge and a lunge at the tape won a furious 800-meter run by inches in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, capturing the gold medal for the United States, died on Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Naples, Fla. Frank Litsky, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023 This is soccer by inches, with a team losing and gaining the ball within seconds. Catherine Porter James Hill, New York Times, 25 July 2023 Matches often come down to one goal, and winning can be decided by inches. Kelyn Soong and Alexa Juliana Ard, Anchorage Daily News, 25 July 2023 But Weah was offside by inches, and the USMNT had to settle for the 1-0 lead. Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 29 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'by inches.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“By inches.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20inches. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

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