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inch

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈɪntʃ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ɪntʃ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(inch)

inch¹ /ɪntʃ/USA pronunciation n. [countable]

Weights and Measuresa unit of length, 1&sfracdenom;12&sfracend; of a foot, equivalent to 2.54 centimeters.
a very small amount, degree, or distance:avoiding disaster by inches.

to move by small degrees: [no object]We inched slowly through the traffic.[~ + object]The driver inched her truck carefully into the spot.

Idioms

Idioms every inch, in every respect;
completely:She's every inch a lady.

Idioms within an inch of, nearly;
close to:We came within an inch of being drowned.

inch¹ (inch),USA pronunciation n.

Weights and Measuresa unit of length, ¹⁄₁₂ foot, equivalent to 2.54 centimeters.
a very small amount of anything;
narrow margin:to win by an inch; to avert disaster by an inch.
Idioms by inches:
- narrowly;
  by a narrow margin:escaped by inches.
- Also, inch by inch. by small degrees or stages;
  gradually:The miners worked their way through the narrow shaft inch by inch.
Idioms every inch, in every respect;
completely:That horse is every inch a thoroughbred.
Idioms within an inch of, nearly;
close to:He came within an inch of getting killed in the crash.

v.t., v.i.

to move by inches or small degrees:We inched our way along the road.

Latin uncia twelfth part, inch, ounce. See ounce¹
bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English ynce

inch² (inch),USA pronunciation n. [Scot.]

Scottish Termsa small island near the seacoast.

Scots Gaelic innse, genitive of innis island, Old Irish inis, cognate with Welsh ynys
late Middle English 1375–1425

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

inch /ɪntʃ/ n

a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot or 0.0254 metre
- an amount of precipitation that would cover a surface with water one inch deep
- a unit of pressure equal to a mercury column one inch high in a barometer
a very small distance, degree, or amount
every inch ⇒ in every way; completely: he was every inch an aristocrat
inch by inch ⇒ gradually; little by little
within an inch of ⇒ very close to

to move or be moved very slowly or in very small steps: the car inched forward
(transitive) followed by out: to defeat (someone) by a very small margin

Etymology: Old English ynce, from Latin uncia twelfth part; see ounce¹

inch /ɪntʃ/ n

Scot Irish a small island

Etymology: 15th Century: from Gaelic innis island; compare Welsh ynys

'inch' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

atmosphere - barleycorn - bpi - column inch - cpi - cubic measure - dpi - elite - em - gauge - in. - mil - Palomar - pascal - pica - point - psi - thick - thou - twelve-inch - uncial - VHS - acre-inch - agate line - board foot - caliber - carry - centiliter - centimeter - Cid - count - creep - cube - cubic - cu. in. - diffraction grating - em pica - Essex table - forty-five - half-inch - height-to-paper - hemline - high-count - in - inchmeal - inch of mercury - inch plant - inch-pound - inchworm - in. Hg

In Lists: Units of distance, Verbs of movement, PET Vocabulary List - I, more...

Synonyms: creep, crawl, move slowly, 2.54 centimeters, 2.54 centimetres, more...

Collocations: measures [six] inches, a measurement of [six] inches, a [leg, waist] measurement of [thirty-six] inches, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "inch" in the title:

0.5 inch/0.5 inches/half an inch/a half of an inch
10-inch seventy-eight
15 inch silver Dell laptop or Dell 15 inch silver laptop
32nds of an inch
50-inch-diagonal-screen television [hyphen]
6 feet / 6 foot 1 inch / 1 inches
6 inch-long ruler with 1/32 inch notches
60-inch cut
a dark half-inch
A quarter inches or a quarter inch
a quarter of an inch out of a possible hundred rods
an inch above/ from shoulder
An inch breaks no square
an inch deep under the sun
An Inch Longer
an inch or two each <way>
beat someone to within an inch of their life
car racing requires you to use every inch of your body
celebrated five-inch shelf
cm/in (inch)
didn't leap back ... so much as inch back
Diptera is approximately 2/3 of an inch which would put the time of death...
dressed within an inch of her life
each time we < inch closer to our anchors >
eighteen-inch <bombazine>
Every Inch a Woman
every inch of (the) floor space
Every inch of you
every inch the Topanga Canyon 'do.'
Every inch within the cell were sauced
more...

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⇱ inch - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

inch