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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
Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024
Yet, beginning in the 1950s, Republicans began making inroads in the region, which accelerated with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s.
—Allison Mashell Mitchell / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Data show Harris has made inroads among white voters without college degrees—a key demographic for Trump—since Joe Biden’s exit from the race, even as Trump leads the group by double digits.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
He's been making inroads by talking about electric vehicles, which is a sore spot for auto workers here.
—ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for inroad 
Dictionary Entries Near inroad
Cite this Entry
“Inroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inroad. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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