1
as in encroaches
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
2
as in drags
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 inches
Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026
Instead, set the whole pot in a tub filled with several inches of water for 30 minutes.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 May 2026
The mountains could see between 4 and 10 inches of snowfall.
—Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 16 May 2026
This is usually when the top couple of inches of soil feel dry.
—Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 16 May 2026
Even 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
Her silver-earning jump of 16 feet, 11 1/2 inches broke the Priory school record.
—Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Montverde senior Grant Williams cleared 14-feet, 9-inches to win the boys pole vault.
—Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2026
Erin Jones, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
Following a bout of social media virality, a scout with Troop 71047 named Pim has sold over 100,000 boxes of cookies and counting, and every sale inches her closer to breaking the record for most Girl Scout Cookies ever sold.
—Kate Perez, USA Today, 16 Feb. 2026
Sierra Canyon will host Crespi on Saturday as the team inches closer to an undefeated Mission League campaign.
—Dan Lovi, Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Republicans can comfort themselves that a win is still a win—and that their House majority inches up to 220–213, at least until other vacancies kick in.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The news comes as Hendricks Commercial Properties inches closer to a massive overhaul of the mall that could take years to complete.
—Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 21 Nov. 2025
Clemson also inches back up into the top 50 for beating Florida State.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
As Congress inches closer to a possible government shutdown, many federal services North Carolinians depend on might be disrupted.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2025
Williams edged the Bills’ Josh Allen and Ravens’ Lamar Jackson for the honor, while Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa inches up one spot to 18th overall.
—Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
Hernandez later shared the top podium spot in high jump with Oak Park High School's Gwynneth Mureika, despite winning first place by two inches.
—Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026
Instead, set the whole pot in a tub filled with several inches of water for 30 minutes.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 May 2026
The mountains could see between 4 and 10 inches of snowfall.
—Callie Zanandrie, CBS News, 16 May 2026
This is usually when the top couple of inches of soil feel dry.
—Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 16 May 2026
Even 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
Her silver-earning jump of 16 feet, 11 1/2 inches broke the Priory school record.
—Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Montverde senior Grant Williams cleared 14-feet, 9-inches to win the boys pole vault.
—Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2026
Verb
The car inches forward but does not clear the way.
—Erin Jones, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
Following a bout of social media virality, a scout with Troop 71047 named Pim has sold over 100,000 boxes of cookies and counting, and every sale inches her closer to breaking the record for most Girl Scout Cookies ever sold.
—Kate Perez, USA Today, 16 Feb. 2026
Sierra Canyon will host Crespi on Saturday as the team inches closer to an undefeated Mission League campaign.
—Dan Lovi, Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Republicans can comfort themselves that a win is still a win—and that their House majority inches up to 220–213, at least until other vacancies kick in.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The news comes as Hendricks Commercial Properties inches closer to a massive overhaul of the mall that could take years to complete.
—Jenny Porter Tilley, IndyStar, 21 Nov. 2025
Clemson also inches back up into the top 50 for beating Florida State.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
As Congress inches closer to a possible government shutdown, many federal services North Carolinians depend on might be disrupted.
—Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 30 Sep. 2025
Williams edged the Bills’ Josh Allen and Ravens’ Lamar Jackson for the honor, while Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa inches up one spot to 18th overall.
—Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inches
Noun
-
The former couple produced and starred in the film, which was made at the height of the COVID pandemic.—
Daniel S. Levine,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
-
In seasons 14 and 15, the PAW Patrol is on a roll with adventures that take the pups from the prehistoric wilds of Dinosaur Island to the rock-climbing heights of Rescue Mountain.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Paglen’s ideas, collected between two covers, carve a clean, linear path through our messy neural era, engaging in the kind of big-picture sense-making that books remain well suited to do, even as AI encroaches on this terrain.—
Louis Bury,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
-
Meta, Anthropic and Apple all now use TPUs, as Google increasingly encroaches on a market cornered by Nvidia's graphics processing units.—
Katie Tarasov,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Analysts have repeatedly warned that if the war drags on and supply chains are disrupted for long enough, prices for gas and a range of other goods could continue to climb.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
Our older cat has no interest in them whatsoever, but our newest baby, Pip, drags his all around the house.—
Jeaneen Russell,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
In other high elevations, including Mount Diablo and the Altamont Pass, the winds blew about 50 mph.—
Rick Hurd,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
-
Cloud cover originally prevented rescuers from reaching him, in addition to wind and snow as the elevation climbed to 4,100 feet.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Leclerc crawls through the long right-hand Turn 12, where Lindblad moves ahead again.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
Think about how often your toddler crawls near the dog bed or your kids toss pet toys around the living room.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Mira’s politics are still primarily shaped by her parents, but the culture creeps in.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Mildew creeps along the corners of the tub.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Instead, the robot simply pokes through it.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inches. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
