/ ɪntʃ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
( abbr. in. ) a unit for measuring length, equal to 2.54 centimetres. There are 12 inches in a foot :
1.14 inches of rain fell last night.
She's a few inches taller than me.
2.
a small amount or distance :
He escaped death by an inch .
The car missed us by inches .
He was just inches away from scoring.
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IDIOMS
- every inch
- give sb an inch (and they'll take a mile / yard)
- inch by inch
- not budge / give / move an inch
- within an inch of sth / of doing sth
—more at trust verb
■ verb
[+ adv. / prep. ] to move or make sth move slowly and carefully in a particular direction :
[ v ]
She moved forward, inching towards the rope.
[ vn ]
I inched the car forward.
He inched his way through the narrow passage.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Old English ynce , from Latin uncia twelfth part, from unus one (probably denoting a unit). Compare with ounce .