1
as in step
a very small distance or degree give them an inch, and they'll take a mile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
1
as in to encroach
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
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 inch
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026 Wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail (1 inch) are predicted. —Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2026
Diane Brady, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026 Michael King appears to be inching closer to his 2024 excellence. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inch
Noun
To plant potatoes, fill the bottom 4 to 6 inches of the container with a quality potting mix blended with compost. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026 Wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail (1 inch) are predicted. —Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
Bitcoin is surging, inching closer to $76,000. —Diane Brady, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026 Michael King appears to be inching closer to his 2024 excellence. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inch
Noun
-
Set one clear intention, then take a brave step before distractions crowd in.— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026
-
Young acknowledged his proposal is just a first step, and said lawmakers have a lot to learn about prediction markets.— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Who needs a mild anti-monarchist outburst, given the far thornier international debacle on the BAFTAs stage?— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
-
Ariana Grande has conquered global arenas, the Oscars stage and, now, another CinemaCon.— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the 250-foot height will honor America's 250 years of existence.— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
-
Due to building restrictions, the team stuck with the original footprint but were able to extend the height 15 feet, making way for more gracious guest rooms.— Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
The unusual crash underscores a growing problem across North Texas, where invasive wild pigs — now found in nearly every county — are increasingly encroaching on neighborhoods and roadways, causing damage, safety concerns and costly disruptions.— Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The officer grabbed me and said 'you're arrested,' and just put me in handcuffs and drug and dragged me out.— Mahsa Saeidi, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
-
The sharp, plumb bow and the hull that slowly widens aft, for example, reduce resistance and drag.— Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
McKellen was hospitalized for three days with a fractured wrist and neck injury following the fall on June 17, 2024, leaving him unable to return to the London run of Player Kings.— Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
-
Police said a 16-year-old boy was shot in the neck and took himself to the University of Chicago Hospital where he is listed in critical condition.— CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Instead, the Magic morphed from road worriers into road warriors, while the Pistons added another chapter to a troubling trend.— Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
-
Lawlor’s book contains chapters devoted to politics, but her inclination to reach for examples of the reasonable and unreasonable that any reader will intuitively share serves her less well here.— Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The roaches crawling in a drawer with clean utensils and rodent poop on a counter didn’t help.— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
-
For example, the new Canva can crawl the web for breaking tech news overnight, determine what’s trending, then create—and even schedule—social media posts on its own.— Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/inch. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
