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Inroad is a combination of in and road, both of which are pretty mundane, as far as words go. But the first-and-oldest-meaning of inroad hints at a meaning of road other than the "way for traveling" one. Beginning back in the days of Old English, road referred to an armed hostile incursion made on horseback. (Raid comes from this use of road and also formerly specified incursions on horseback.) Road, as well as inroad, has lost its violent connotation. While inroads are often made at the expense of someone or something, they are at times simply advances, as when an artist is said to be "making inroads into a community."
Examples of inroad in a Sentence
Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 4 May 2025
Over the last 20 years, while the U.S. was fighting the war on terror, our adversaries have made inroads throughout the Western Hemisphere in a clear effort to circumvent the position of the United States as a global leader and exploit our neighbors.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
And the company has been making inroads into health care and retail in recent years.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
And while independent media on the right is flourishing, more traditional journalists are now entering the fray and trying to make inroads into online spaces as influencers are playing a larger role in our political system.
—Taylor Lorenz, Rolling Stone, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inroad
Cite this Entry
“Inroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inroad. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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