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Inch

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inch¹

  • /ɪnt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -ɪntʃ

Where it comes from

From Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, borrowed from Latin ū̆ncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

noun inches · inch · in · in. · ″

  1. An English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm. One rule of thumb is that the width of an adult thumb can approximate a length of one inch.
  2. figuratively Any very short distance. Don't move an inch!
  3. Any of various similar units of length in other traditional systems of measurement. At the time of Augustus, the Roman inch was standardized at a length about 3% shorter than the modern English one.
  4. A depth of one inch on the ground, used as a measurement of rainfall. Expect around 2 inches of rain on Saturday afternoon.
  5. A depth of one inch in a glass, used as a rough measurement of alcoholic beverages. My partner only drinks about a 1 inch pour with dinner, leaving the rest of the bottle for me.

verb inches · inching · inched

  1. intransitive To advance very slowly, or by a small amount (in a particular direction). Fearful of falling, he inched along the window ledge.
  2. To drive by inches, or small degrees. He gets too far into the soldier's grace / And inches out my master.
  3. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly.

inch²

  • /ɪnt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -ɪntʃ

Where it comes from

From Scots inch, from Scottish Gaelic innis.

noun inches

  1. Ireland, Scotland A small island; an islet. The blackening wave is edged with white; / To inch and rock the sea-mews fly.
  2. Ireland, Scotland A meadow, pasture, field, or haugh. An ivy-clad farmhouse surrounded by trees, it stood on the sunny side of a sloping hill at the foot of which the Darigle river curved its way through gold-furzed inches to disappear under a stone bridge into the woods beyond.

inch³

  • /ɪnt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -ɪntʃ

Where it comes from

Semantic loan from Cantonese 寸 (cyun³, “inch”), which is an alternative form of 串 (cyun³, “cocky; to provoke; etc.”).

adjective

  1. Hong Kong, colloquial cocky and cheeky I still remember Donald Duck sit next to him after NG dog being 'Done'd to F.2 building... he is still very Inch in Year 1983-4 teaching me RS

verb inches · inching · inched

  1. Hong Kong, colloquial to burn (to insult); to speak in a cocky and cheeky manner Sorry for changing the intention of the post last time; it was for nothing but the personal joy and satisfaction of "inch"-ing the person who criticized my writing while he/she can't even write. (no hard feelings, alright?!) I'd avoid that in the future. I'll try to make this a constructive discussi

Inch⁴

proper noun

  1. A town in County Wexford, Ireland.

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