inning

noun

in·​ning ˈi-niŋ 

1

a

: a division of a baseball game consisting of a turn at bat for each team

also : a baseball team's turn at bat ending with the third out

b

innings ˈi-niŋz  plural in form but singular or plural in construction : a division of a cricket match

c

: a player's turn (as in horseshoes, pool, or croquet)

2

: a chance or opportunity for action or accomplishment

—usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction

… that momentous innings … which was to project him into world politics …

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Examples of inning in a Sentence

She hit a double in the fourth inning.

Recent Examples on the Web

Going deep against Pettitte in the second inning and Brian Boehringer in the third of a 12-1 rout, Jones became the second player to homer in his first two Series at-bats after Gene Tenace in 1972. —Ronald Blum, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2026

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey runs home to score against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 27, 2021. —CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026

Blalock, 25, made his major league debut in 2024 with Milwaukee, but pitched just one scoreless inning before he was shipped to Colorado in a trade that sent right-hander Nick Mears to the Brewers. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026

Of course many factors contributed to the Hoosiers’ win, just as the Cubs had a lot of things go right in Game 7 of the World Series after Chapman served up a game-tying home run to Rajai Davis in the eighth inning that put everyone on edge. —Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

in entry 2 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing inning

• the seventh-inning stretch

Rhymes for inning

• binning
• dinning
• ginning
• grinning
• pinning
• sinning
• skinning
• spinning
• thinning
• tinning
• twinning
• winning

Kids Definition

inning

noun

in·​ning ˈin-iŋ 

: a division of a baseball game consisting of a turn at bat for each team

also : a baseball team's turn at bat