# inning

Pronunciation: US say "IN-ing" /ˈɪnɪŋ/; UK

## Noun

1. In baseball, a division of play in which each team bats until three of its players are put out, with nine or more making up a regulation game.
   - Simple: In baseball, a part of the game where both teams take a turn to bat and to field.
   - _The pitcher struck out three batters to end the inning._
   - _Both teams went scoreless through the early innings._
2. In softball and similar bat-and-ball games, a period of play matching the baseball division of the same name, with each side batting and fielding in turn.
   - Simple: In softball and similar games, a part of play like a baseball inning, where each team takes a turn.
   - _The softball game stayed close until the final inning._
   - _She pitched all seven innings of the championship game._
3. A chance or opportunity to carry out some deed or action, often one taken in turn with others.
   - Simple: A chance or turn to do something you want to do.
   - _The understudy saw the lead's illness as her inning at last._
   - _Reformers argued that a new generation deserved its inning in government._
4. In billiards, a player or team's turn at the table to make shots, lasting until a miss or a foul ends it.
   - Simple: In billiards, a player's turn to keep taking shots until they miss or break a rule.
   - _The champion ran sixty points in one inning at the table._
   - _Successive scoreless innings dragged the match out._

## Verb

5. Present participle of inn. *(obsolete)* — present participle and gerund of inn
   - Simple: Present participle of inn. This old verb is no longer used.

## Noun

6. The gathering in of a crop from the fields; the work of harvesting. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of bringing a crop in from the fields at harvest time.
   - _The steward recorded a bountiful inning of barley that season._
   - _Heavy storms delayed the inning of the hay for a fortnight._
7. Areas of land reclaimed from the sea and made fit for use. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Land that has been taken back from the sea and made dry.
   - _The lord claimed the fresh inning won from the tide._
   - _Storms threatened the innings reclaimed along the estuary._

## Origin

A back-formation from 'innings,' which was mistakenly taken to be a plural of the time period rather than referring to the entries of the batters or batsmen.

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