Did you know?
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
Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
China in particular has attempted inroads in Greenland in recent years, Rosen writes, including efforts to construct three airports on the island and to purchase a former American naval base in the southwest corner of the island.
—Tristan Bove, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
As artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to make inroads across all industries, business leaders have recognized potential strengths and vulnerabilities of the expansion.
—Connie Etemadi, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
And that coalition means making inroads into the Democratic big cities of the North, and that means, of necessity, jettisoning concern for the freed slaves.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inroad
Cite this Entry
“Inroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inroad. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy Citation
