Inch Meaning
/ɪnt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm, conceived as roughly the width of a thumb.
nounAny very short distance.
Sentence Examples
Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
The elephant won't move an inch.
The company has launched its latest 10-inch tablet.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tiny insect measured only one ____ in length, making it very small.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The little turtle moved only an ____ at a time across the hot sand toward the ocean.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, borrowed from Latin uncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Cognate with Middle Dutch enke (“thumb, thumb's width, inch”). Doublet of ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The sledges of the Esquimaux are of large size, varying from six and a half to nine and even eleven feet in length, and from eighteen inches to two feet in breadth."
— 1873, Charles Tomlinson, chapter III, in Winter in the Arctic Regions and Summer in the Antarctic Regions, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, →OCLC, page 122:
"The term "precision measurement" […] refers to the art of reproducing and controlling dimensions expressed in thousandths of an inch or smaller."
— 1939, The Department of Education of International Business Machines Corporation, chapter I, in Precision Measurement in the Metal Working Industry, first paperback binding edition, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, published 1978, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 1:
"He describes the operation thus: "The heavy ram employed to impart the finishing strokes, hoisted up with double purchase and snail's pace to the summit of the Piling Engine, and then falling down like a thunderbolt on the head of the devoted timber, driving it perhaps a single half inch in to the stratum below, is well calculated to put to the test the virtue of patience, while it illustrates the old adage of—slow and sure.""
— 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, page 487:
"Youth worker Rob, 25, is 5’ 3” tall but measures 6’ 6” around his girth – just an inch less than the height of England’s beanpole striker Peter Crouch."
— 2012 March 7, Richard Smith, “I'm wider than I am tall: 35 stone Rob measures 6ft 6in around his waist”, in Daily Mirror, archived from the original on 16 May 2026:
"Beldame, I think we watched you at an inch."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tiny insect measured only one ____ in length, making it very small.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The little turtle moved only an ____ at a time across the hot sand toward the ocean.