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

Felix Bautista, who, when healthy, has held down the ninth inning, sustained a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his right shoulder and is expected to miss most of the 2026 season. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 29 Nov. 2025

Cease allows the Jays to be more flexible with those last two guys, since there’s a good chance their top three starters (by innings) will be taking every turn. —Keith Law, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2025

In fact, in 10 seasons, Glasnow has topped 100 inning pitched only three times, including a career-high 134 innings in 2024. —Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025

After a strange courtship ritual—in which, as a favor to Liveright, Cerf accompanied the writer Theodore Dreiser to an afternoon baseball game that the latter man, bored, sulky, whisked them from around the sixth inning—Cerf took the job. —Literary Hub, 25 Nov. 2025

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