inched

verb

Definition of inchednext
past tense of inch
1
as in encroached
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

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2
as in dragged
to move slowly the car inched carefully across the snow-covered causeway

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inched In stock markets abroad, indexes inched higher in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 After-sun skin care orders rose 46%, and orders for split ACs rose 41%, while demand for outdoor misting systems inched up 24%. — Vidhi Choudhary, Fortune, 7 July 2026 SpaceX shares inched up about 1% in early trading ahead of Tuesday's entrance into the Nasdaq 100 index, which is tracked by investment firms that manage 401(k) retirement accounts. — ABC News, 6 July 2026 On the corner of West 31st Street and Seventh Avenue, right outside Madison Square Garden, the heat was scorching as the temperature inched to 100 degrees. — Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 4 July 2026 When the two competing versions tested, the scores surprisingly dropped significantly, although the studio’s inched out ahead of Gillespie’s…but by only two points, according to sources. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026 Opinions on Freeman inched upward even though the Irish missed the College Football Playoff after early losses to Miami and Texas A&M. — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 26 June 2026 Since the Labour Party took office in 2024, average weekly pay, adjusted for inflation and excluding bonuses, has inched up less than 1% to £494 ($651), according to the UK statistics office — hardly better than the growth since 2019. — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 23 June 2026 The draw inched Cape Verde closer to the knockout stage. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inched
  1. encroached
  2. dragged
  3. crawled
  4. crept
  5. shuffled
  6. poked
Verb
  • Stark said developers have encroached on her community in Chandler.
    — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 21 July 2026
  • Lawyers for both YouTube and Meta also consistently posed questions throughout the trial about whether the evidence and arguments encroached on legal protections for tech companies around content posted by third parties.
    — Kaitlyn Huamani, Fortune, 15 July 2026
Definition of encroached
Verb
  • Who dragged bags of footballs onto the field before practice?
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • While that shutdown ostensibly ended in mid-November, a partial government shutdown dragged on through April, snarling the Department of Homeland Security and causing long delays and confusion at airports across the country.
    — Drew Pittock, USA Today, 23 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • Flash flood warnings were then issued again for New York City and nearby states as thunderstorms crawled across the region on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
  • Hull testified that Robinson later returned in different clothing, walking with a limp, rolled onto the roof of a building on campus and crawled to the edge of the rooftop around the time the shot was fired.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 10 July 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Some 10 men armed with clubs and crowbars crept into the warehouse, unaware that their inside man had changed his mind and ratted them out.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026
  • Additionally, coffee intake was self-reported, meaning that inaccuracies could have crept in.
    — Stephanie Anderson Witmer, Health, 21 July 2026
Definition of crept
Verb
  • Black voters were shuffled around Houston, with much of the previous 9th Congressional District becoming the new 18th District.
    — Rahul Mukherjee, NPR, 23 July 2026
  • Several writers have also shuffled in and out of the project.
    — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • Before McDaniel’s first NFL game, one Vikings defender aggressively poked his left eye in practice.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • It’s now understood that Russia in 2016 poked the election systems in all 50 states to check what protections were in place and accessed—but did not change—some very local registration rosters in Florida and Illinois.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 17 July 2026
Definition of poked

Browse Nearby Words

inch by inch
inched
inches
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Cite this Entry

“Inched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inched. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of inched for Spanish Speakers

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