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
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Recent Examples of inched
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
Kylian Mbappé passed Pelé on the World Cup goal-scoring list and inched closer to setting the overall goal record for the tournament.
—
CBS News,
22 June 2026
The draw inched Cape Verde closer to the knockout stage.
—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
Now, in a new interview with Esquire, Holland inched ever so slightly closer towards that elusive official confirmation while, impressively, still maintaining plenty of ambiguity.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
The players were participating in a warm-up drill; the circle inched forward as the Americans headed or kicked the ball to each other.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
11 June 2026
One reason is likely that Southern California pay raises are just barely outpacing inflation, so your paycheck’s buying power has only inched up.
—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
8 June 2026
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 30 points.
—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
Housing plans Prospects for Pritzker’s ambitious package of proposals to build more housing in Illinois seemed murky Friday, though several pieces of legislation have inched forward in recent days.
—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2026
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
23 June 2026
Kylian Mbappé passed Pelé on the World Cup goal-scoring list and inched closer to setting the overall goal record for the tournament.
—
CBS News,
22 June 2026
The draw inched Cape Verde closer to the knockout stage.
—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
Now, in a new interview with Esquire, Holland inched ever so slightly closer towards that elusive official confirmation while, impressively, still maintaining plenty of ambiguity.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
The players were participating in a warm-up drill; the circle inched forward as the Americans headed or kicked the ball to each other.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
11 June 2026
One reason is likely that Southern California pay raises are just barely outpacing inflation, so your paycheck’s buying power has only inched up.
—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
8 June 2026
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 30 points.
—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
Housing plans Prospects for Pritzker’s ambitious package of proposals to build more housing in Illinois seemed murky Friday, though several pieces of legislation have inched forward in recent days.
—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inched
Verb
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Kenya has experienced incidents of land grabbing in the past, and environmentalists have often spoken out when parks and other green spaces are encroached upon.
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Cuba has long defended its decision to shoot down the planes, insisting that Brothers to the Rescue had encroached on the country's sovereignty.
Verb
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But as the crisis dragged on over six days and pressure from the families of the hostages grew, Israeli leaders gradually became more open to talks, according to a summary of the files released by the Israel State Archives.
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Around Christmas 2024 the Estlink 2 cable between Finland and Estonia went down after a shadow-fleet tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor across the seabed.
Verb
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Street sweepers and garbage trucks crawled through roads fans had packed hours earlier.
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Last December, a rat appeared from the overhead bins and crawled behind a curtain in the cabin while a flight was en route from Amsterdam to Aruba, according to previous reporting from USA TODAY.
Verb
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Daily drops of 5% and 4% were followed by a 16% slump as jitters crept into the market.
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On this Hornets team, which crept close to the playoffs last season but still didn’t make it for the 10th year in a row, these two first-round picks aren’t going to start right away unless someone gets hurt.
Verb
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After about 10 minutes of sitting frozen in place, the seven-year-old shuffled out of the room with his mother, sister and grandmother.
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The outsize failings of the men in power demand a grand reimagining of the consequences of those failings, and Helen of Nowhere offers up, exhilaratingly and naughtily, a myth for the man who needs to be shuffled offstage one way or another.
Verb
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Griffin also poked at the cohosts in the immediate aftermath of Hasselbeck and former View moderator Rosie O'Donnell's legendary on-air fight in 2007, as Griffin was a guest host the following day and brought up the incident numerous times — which annoyed Walters in the moment.
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Late in the third, the Knights seemed to retake the lead after Pavel Dorofeyev poked home a loose puck.
Cite this Entry
“Inched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inched. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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