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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
Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 6 May 2026
That’s made the voter roll controversy particularly combustive in West Bengal, where almost a third of the 90 million-strong population are Muslim and where the BJP has been making inroads in recent years.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 1 May 2026
Latinos are making inroads at the federal level too.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
No longer Hollywood’s biggest villain, AI appears to be making inroads with entertainers.
—Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 23 Apr. 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 11 May. 2026.
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