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
2
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of inch
Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
Male anglerfish are small − only about one inch − and are not predatory.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2025
Climbing oil prices has led to gas prices inching up nationwide, as recent sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump raised concerns over Russian and Iranian supplies and uncertainty continues in the Middle East as the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire starts showing signs of collapsing.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inch
Noun
The zone is 17 inches wide — the width of home plate — and pitch location is measured at the midpoint between the front and back of the plate.
—Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
Male anglerfish are small − only about one inch − and are not predatory.
—Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Verb
The low 80s is unseasonably warm, the weather service warned Wednesday, with Thursday inching upward.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2025
Climbing oil prices has led to gas prices inching up nationwide, as recent sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump raised concerns over Russian and Iranian supplies and uncertainty continues in the Middle East as the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire starts showing signs of collapsing.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inch
Noun
-
Every once in a while, a quick step would find a sliver and space, and the scene would shift direction, bringing a new possibility that something big might happen.—
Louisa Thomas,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
-
The smartest career reinventions happen when people reposition their strengths, rethink their value, and take small, strategic steps instead of making drastic changes.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Jason Kelce is recalling the early stages of his brother Travis Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
22 Feb. 2025
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Matar was arrested the same day and was ultimately charged with the stabbing of Rushdie and Henry Reese, a 75-year-old entrepreneur and advocate for international writers who was on the stage alongside the author.—
Jonathan Limehouse,
USA TODAY,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Consider height: Male individuals are, on average, about 8 percent taller than female ones.—
Agustín Fuentes,
Scientific American,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Gilbert has more height and is listed at 6-7 and 233 pounds, while Schott is 6-3 and 215 pounds.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
At that time, with commercial fishing encroaching on their traditional livelihoods, most people in his town decided to take up piracy, Khamis asserted.—
Soham Mitra, Lou Robinson and Patrick Gallagher,
CNN,
22 Feb. 2025
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The researchers hope their study serves as a call to further investigate deep-sea biodiversity in the face of encroaching human activities like industrial fishing and offshore drilling.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
When users click and drag their cursor across the screen, random clusters of letters appear, followed by sentences that flash briefly before disappearing.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Swansea City have sacked head coach Luke Williams following a poor run of results since the turn of the year that has dragged the Championship club into a relegation battle.—
Stuart James,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Tropicana ditched its distinctive carafe, with its circular shape, thinning neck, and crown-like bottle cap.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN,
26 Feb. 2025
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The ruling was that both players violated the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The book opens up with a short chapter on what all the sections mean with some clarifcations on what goes where.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
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In other parts of Just Beyond the Light, Blythe uses a stay at the Chelsea Hotel in New York to ruminate on songwriting and other forms of creativity, while the chapter before laments the epidemic of school shootings in the United States and the lack of effective measures to prevent them.—
Gary Graff,
Billboard,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
If no shelter is available, crawl to an interior wall away from windows.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
26 Feb. 2025
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As Hill sprinted from the trailing vehicle, the president was struck by a second and third shot as Hill crawled onto the back of the Kennedys' accelerating car.—
Bill Trott,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inch. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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