# in

Pronunciation: say "IN" /ɪn/

## Preposition

1. Inside or within something, such as a container, building, place or area, or surrounded by things.
   - Simple: Inside or within a place, a container or an area.
   - _There are thousands of lakes in Finland._
   - _He sat in the corner and read._
2. During a period of time.
   - Simple: During a certain period of time, such as a month, a year, or a season.
   - _The bridge was built in the 1930s._
   - _Most accidents happen in the afternoon._
3. Used to express containment in something that is not a physical place.
   - Simple: Used for things that are inside something that is not a physical place, such as a speech or a person.
   - _There was a note of sadness in her voice._
   - _The plan has a fatal flaw in it._
4. Pertaining to or with regard to.
   - Simple: Used to say what subject or area something is about, as in 'a change in the weather'.
   - _She has a degree in chemistry._
   - _Doctors noted an improvement in his breathing._
5. Part of or a member of something, or from among a number.
   - Simple: Part of a group, or one out of a larger number.
   - _Only one in a thousand applications succeeds._
   - _He is in the choir and the chess club._
6. Denoting the state or condition of the subject.
   - Simple: Used to say what state or condition someone or something is in, as in 'in danger'.
   - _The company has been in trouble for years._
   - _The apple trees are in blossom._
7. Indicating the language, medium, material, currency or manner in which something is expressed, made or done.
   - Simple: Showing the language, material, money or way used, as in 'written in French' or 'paid in cash'.
   - _The letter was in her mother's careful handwriting._
   - _She paid for the whole meal in cash and left a generous tip._
11. Taking no longer than a given length of time; before a stated period has elapsed.
   - Simple: Before a certain amount of time has passed, as in 'finish in a week'.
   - _The fire spread through the building in under an hour._
   - _He ran the race in just over four hours._
9. Moving to the inside of something.
   - Simple: Into, meaning moving toward the inside of something.
   - _She peered in the window, hoping to see a light._
   - _The ball bounced off a defender and went in the net._
13. By or while doing something, indicating an action that causes an effect or serves a purpose.
   - Simple: Used before an '-ing' word to mean 'by doing something' or 'while doing it'.
   - _The court, in dismissing the case, criticized the police._
   - _Her purpose in writing was to warn us._
14. Indicating an order or arrangement.
   - Simple: Used to say the shape or pattern that things are arranged in, as in 'in a row'.
   - _The planes came over in waves all night._
   - _File the cards in alphabetical order._
16. Wearing an item of clothing.
   - Simple: Wearing certain clothes, as in 'the girl in the red dress'.
   - _The guards were in full dress uniform._
   - _A woman in a yellow raincoat waved from the platform._
20. At the end of a stated period of time, counted from the present or from some other moment.
   - Simple: When a certain amount of time has passed.
   - _The doctor wants to see her again in six months._
   - _Her flight lands in three hours, so we have time for lunch._

## Adverb

8. At or toward the inside of a place or thing, or so as to be enclosed by it.
   - Simple: Into or inside a place or thing.
   - _Would you like to eat in or take away?_
   - _She unlocked the door and stepped in._
15. Moving or directed toward where the speaker is, or toward whatever place serves as the point of reference.
   - Simple: Toward the place where the speaker is, or toward the shore or center, as in 'the tide comes in'.
   - _Reports were coming in from all over the country._
   - _Her flight gets in at noon._
19. A stated time or distance after the beginning of something.
   - Simple: After a certain amount of time has passed since the start, as in 'ten minutes in'.
   - _The team was two goals down five minutes in._
   - _Three chapters in, the book finally comes alive._

## Adjective

12. Not out; inside a building, particularly one's home or workplace.
   - Simple: At home or at work, and not out somewhere else.
   - _I called twice, but nobody was in._
   - _He stays in most evenings now._
17. Fashionable or popular; currently the thing to have or do.
   - Simple: Fashionable or popular at the moment.
   - _Short hair was in, then out, then in again._
   - _Vinyl records are in with teenagers._
18. Located inside something, or inserted or fitted into it.
   - Simple: Inside something, or put into it.
   - _The splinter was so far in that tweezers could not reach it._
   - _The doctor said the bullet was still in, resting near his spine._
21. Having arrived or been received; of goods, delivered to a shop and available to buy.
   - Simple: Arrived or received. Of goods, in the shop and ready to buy.
   - _With the last ballots in, the count could begin._
   - _The harvest was in before the rains came._
22. Followed by with: on friendly or favored terms with someone, especially someone who has influence.
   - Simple: Friendly with someone, often someone who can help you.
   - _Her parents worried when she got in with older kids who skipped school._
   - _Nobody trusted him once he was in with the smugglers._
24. Of a ball or other object in play: landing or staying within the boundaries of the playing area.
   - Simple: Of a ball in a game: inside the lines of the playing area.
   - _The replay showed the ball had clipped the back line, so it was in._
   - _The shuttlecock dropped just in, and the home crowd groaned._
25. Of the tide, at or close to its highest level.
   - Simple: Of the sea's tide: high, or almost as high as it gets.
   - _Fishing off the pier is best when the tide is in._
   - _The road to the island floods whenever the tide's in._
27. Taking a turn with the bat at the present time in cricket, whether as a single batter or as the batting side.
   - Simple: Having a turn to bat right now, in a game of cricket.
   - _The captain has been in for two hours and shows no sign of getting out._
   - _With both openers still in at lunch, the visitors needed only forty more runs to win._
10. Already involved in an activity, plan or bet, or ready and willing to join it.
   - Simple: Joining, or ready to join, a plan, activity or bet.
   - _If you're betting twenty dollars on the game, I'm in._
   - _We're booking an escape room for Friday night. Who's in?_

## Noun

23. A position of power or influence, or a means of getting one, often with a particular person or organization.
   - Simple: Power or influence somewhere, or a way to get it.
   - _Without an in at one of the big studios, the young director struggled to get meetings._
   - _Joining the golf club gave him an in with the town's business leaders._
26. Short for inch or inches: a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot, or 2.54 centimeters, written after a number.
   - Simple: Short for inch or inches: a small unit of length, written after a number, as in 6ft 5in.
   - _The frame measures 10in by 8in._
   - _Rainfall reached 3in in a single day._

## Other meanings

- (preposition) Used in grammar and phonetics to mean ending or beginning with a stated letter or sound.
- (preposition) Used to treat a person or thing as the place where certain qualities are found, as in "you have a loyal friend in her."
- (verb) To shut something in or surround it with a fence or wall.
- (verb) To bring crops in from the fields at harvest time.
- (noun) A person or group currently holding power, especially those in office, as in "the ins and the outs."
- (noun) The position of a player who is batting at the moment, in cricket and similar games.
- (adjective) Of a sail, rolled up and tied or put away.
- (adjective) Of a legal claim to land: held, as when someone is said to be "in" by inheritance.
- (adjective) Of a fire, still lit and burning.
- (adjective) Having reached a given amount of spending, using or investing, as in 'I'm fifty dollars in' or 'three drinks in.'

## Origin

English in combines two lines of descent. The preposition and verb passed through Middle English in from Old English in, tracing back to Proto-Germanic *in. The adverb, noun, and adjective derive from Old English inn and inne, whose Proto-Germanic sources were *inn and *innai respectively. Both lines ultimately trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁en, meaning "in".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/in (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).