Synonyms of inched

inched

verb

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

• encroached
• crept
• snaked
• wormed
• sneaked
• invaded
• entrenched
• intruded
• impinged
• overshot
• infringed
• overstepped
• overran
• overreached
• overpassed

2

as in dragged

to move slowly

the car inched carefully across the snow-covered causeway

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dragged
• crawled
• crept
• shuffled
• poked
• limped
• slouched
• oozed
• nosed
• plodded
• creaked (along)
• snailed
• trudged
• shambled
• tramped
• lumbered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flew
• raced
• sped
• sailed
• floated
• whizzed
• hurried
• zipped
• glided
• tore

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of inched

Airborne at one point during testing, Silva reportedly inched out on the helicopter's right skid — with no safety belt — to investigate the cause of intense vibrations shaking the cockpit, according to a 2009 interview with Smithsonian Magazine. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

After over a year from playing live, Baker has inched back into performing, playing a solo show in Nantucket, Massachusetts in late August and serving as surprise guest during her Boygenius bandmate Lucy Dacus’ Outside Lands gig. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2026

Oil prices inched lower on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to further increase its output targets from August while exports from key producers via the Strait of Hormuz are recovering, potentially adding to global supplies. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026

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

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