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
  • 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
  • Ditching a 90-year-old decision, the court said restrictions Congress placed on a president’s ability to remove members of independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission encroached on presidential power.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of encroached
Verb
  • Scardovari, Italy — As the sun was rising, two fisherwomen dragged their boat through the Scardovari lagoon in northeastern Italy.
    — Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
  • The animation is often rudimentary, particularly in outer-space scenes that are effectively a cut-out of a starship being dragged across a stellar background.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of dragged
Verb
  • 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
  • Their father dismounted, went down on foot, climbed the fence his son had crawled under.
    — Emily Ruskovich, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Grubbs grew up in a northwest suburb called Marietta, before the sprawl of Atlanta crept in.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
  • Indiana had crept back within striking distance early in the third quarter, and Gainbridge was rocking, sensing a signature Fever win in the making.
    — Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
Definition of crept
Verb
  • Bulldozers shuffled right through the rubble to make roads that cut Gaza into separate sections.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
  • And before several services shuffled their rankings earlier this week, no QB ranked inside the top 20.
    — Grace Raynor, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of shuffled
Verb
  • 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
  • The teen said Jones poked his head through the doorway, then returned to the room and continued firing before leaving the apartment.
    — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 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 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on inched

Nglish: Translation of inched for Spanish Speakers

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