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 Specialists on the phone with their clients kept their paddles in the air as the bids inched higher and higher. — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026 Barely an hour from the famed Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap, deminers with South Korean, Swiss and American flags on their uniforms and helmets, recently inched through a minefield, clearing the land one painstaking step at a time. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 Whether Kidman’s performance inched the price upward remains unclear. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Aug. 2026 McAdoo also had an RBI single and Brett Bateman reached base three times as the Blue Jays inched closer to the final AL wild-card spot. — CBS News, 15 Aug. 2026 So while governing bodies and SafeSport inched toward reform, ProPublica and The Post found, the AAU did not. — Molly Hensley-Clancy, ProPublica, 13 Aug. 2026 Overnight, the ship inched through eight impossibly narrow locks, depositing us on Lake Ontario. — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Aug. 2026 Also on Wednesday, oil prices initially eased but later inched up. — Elena Becatoros, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026 In stock markets abroad, indexes inched higher in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inched
  1. encroached
  2. dragged
  3. crawled
  4. crept
  5. shuffled
  6. poked
Verb
  • In what his dad (Ed Harris) calls the decline of humanity, the club is being encroached on by pickleballers clamoring for more courts.
    — Christine Ledbetter, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But the somatosensory cortex, the touch cortex, has like encroached upon it.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of encroached
Verb
  • The winter chill that dragged digital assets down during most of the hot summer months is finally beginning to lift, with the price of Bitcoin surging about 20 percent last week, its strongest three-day rally since 2023.
    — Peter Mintzberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • In 2024, Burke’s squad dragged itself off the mat after an awful (yet at the time, typical) start to the season to go unbeaten in 12 of 13 matches down the stretch and narrowly miss the playoffs.
    — Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • One roach crawled on glassware in the dishwashing area and eight were under the dishwasher.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The mural is as if the octopus crawled out of the large vase filled with water and flowers and is helping to feed the birds.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Tech has crept into every facet of everyday life, like an invisible fog of ones and zeros.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The height of this strategy shift was the Sneak Attack by Roger (SABR), in which Federer crept forward to return opponent’s serves almost on the half volley, shortening points and taking away time from his opponent.
    — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of crept
Verb
  • Finally, the next season, Karlsson was shuffled frequently between Abbotsford and Vancouver and resided at the fringes of the NHL lineup.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Venegas scrolled through his phone while Penna shuffled past us to grab a drink from the office fridge.
    — Christine Terrisse, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • Better together Industry analysts, experts and insiders have consistently poked holes in the states' argument that the combination of TV networks would create antitrust issues.
    — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • So too were the buildings, including my hotel, which poked through the seven-foot-high snowbanks, looking like an ancient shipwreck covered in shifting sand.
    — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of poked

Browse Nearby Words

inch by inch
inched
inches
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Inched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inched. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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