inch

1
[ inch ]
/ ɪntʃ /

noun

a unit of length, 1/12 (0.0833) 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.

verb (used with or without object)

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

Idioms for inch

Origin of inch

1
before 1000; Middle English; Old English ynce < Latin uncia twelfth part, inch, ounce. See ounce1

Words nearby inch

inceptive, incertitude, incessant, incest, incestuous, inch, inch along, inch by inch, inch of mercury, inch plant, inch-pound

British Dictionary definitions for by inches (1 of 2)

inch 1
/ (ɪntʃ) /

noun

verb

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

Word Origin for inch

Old English ynce, from Latin uncia twelfth part; see ounce 1

British Dictionary definitions for by inches (2 of 2)

inch 2
/ (ɪntʃ) /

noun

Scot and Irish a small island

Word Origin for inch

C15: from Gaelic innis island; compare Welsh ynys

Scientific definitions for by inches

inch
[ ĭnch ]

A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 112 of a foot (2.54 centimeters). See Table at measurement.

Idioms and Phrases with by inches (1 of 2)

by inches

Also, inch by inch. Gradually, bit by bit, as in We found ourselves in rush hour traffic, moving by inches. Shakespeare used this term in Coriolanus (5:4): “They'll give him death by inches.” Despite the increasing use of metric measurements, it survives, often as an exaggeration of the actual circumstance. The phrase to inch along, first recorded in 1812, means “to move bit by bit,” as in There was a long line at the theater, just inching along.

Idioms and Phrases with by inches (2 of 2)

inch