1
as in step
a very small distance or degree
give them an inch, and they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
1
as in to encroach
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
every year the water inches further up the embankments, threatening to permanently engulf the island city
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of inch
Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
More than 2 inches of rain fell in Brooklyn and Queens on Thursday, sparking flash flood warnings in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025
Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
Chefs from culinary hotspots like Los Angeles, New York City, and Mexico City have opened Austin restaurants, and the average price of a restaurant entree and a craft cocktail seems to be inching up every day.
—Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inch
Noun
And the resulting 35-yard field goal try — a six-inch gimmie putt in the modern NFL — wobbles wide right.
—Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
More than 2 inches of rain fell in Brooklyn and Queens on Thursday, sparking flash flood warnings in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
And while Braum’s has recently slackened its former rule of not venturing 300 miles from the farm (that number is now 330 miles), Beuchaw says the company does not plan to inch out any further.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
Chefs from culinary hotspots like Los Angeles, New York City, and Mexico City have opened Austin restaurants, and the average price of a restaurant entree and a craft cocktail seems to be inching up every day.
—Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inch
Noun
-
Ahmad cautiously approached the home, climbed up the porch steps, and jiggled the front window.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The State Building Commission will take up the first steps toward overhauling the state's prisons this week.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 28 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be deployed about an hour after launch.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Immediately after the tribute, Jonas Brothers appeared on stage, with an announcer explaining that the performance was dedicated to those living with cancer.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
These ones have a lug sole that offers extra height and more room for cushioned support.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Now to see again, the third time, essentially, their desire to expand the freeway and encroach towards McCrorey Heights, is problematic.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Oct. 2025
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The partnership was formed to address the invasive trees and shrubs encroaching on the natural grasslands in TNC's Folsom Point Preserve in Iowa, which is located just over 12 miles from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But efforts to drag the barge to the site via helicopter failed, with the icebreaker getting stuck in ice and mud.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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As negotiations have dragged on, moreover, Beijing’s appetite has grown.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The coordinated attack left a local officer shot in the neck.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Oct. 2025
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In the clip, Lecaillier cuts, tapes and shapes her materials until a wonderfully bonkers ostrich begins to take form — complete with flapping wings and a bobbing neck made from little more than determination and a sense of humor.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Yarra Junction boomerang, unusual in its size and shape, was deeply integrated into the original societies of Australia, but this one, specifically, came after colonization, thereby bringing up another formative chapter in the country’s history.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
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Before takeoff, Graham joined staff and flight crew on the tarmac, bowing in prayer beside the towering white jet that marks a new chapter in the relief group’s aviation fleet.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ecologically, spiders are important predators of crawling insects.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
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This 2022 Netflix original documentary will have your skin crawling.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inch. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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