inside

Sayin-SYD/ɪnˈsaɪd/

As an adjectiveIN-syd

Noun pluralinsides

16 meanings of inside

Practice

1
withinpreposition
In or into the interior of something, or within its limits or boundaries.
The reactor core sits inside a thick concrete containment shell.
He kept his wallet inside his jacket, safe from pickpockets.
UsageUsually no of is needed: inside the box. In everyday talk it is more usual than within.
Similarwithin, in
Oppositeoutside
2
adverb
In or into the inner part of something, especially a building or room; indoors.
When the temperature dropped, everyone moved inside for the evening.
The children played inside while the rain poured down.
UsageNo object is needed when the place is clear: go inside, stay inside, much like indoors.
3
nouncountable
The interior portion of something; its inner part as distinct from the outer surface.
The inside of the cathedral was far grander than its plain exterior suggested.
Moisture had collected on the inside of the windshield.
UsageUsually the inside of something, opposite the outside of it; inside out means with the inner side turned out.
Similarinterior
Oppositeoutside, exterior, surface
Note
Shakespeare and Fletcher, writing in 1613, could already ask whether someone had looked "o' the inside of the paper," meaning its inner face.
4
inner sideadjective
On or relating to the inner side, surface, or part of something, nearer its middle.
Paint had chipped along the inside edge of the window frame.
Stitching along the inside seam had begun to fray.
5
in your heartadverb
In one's private thoughts or feelings, without expressing them outwardly.
Inside, he had already decided to quit, though his face gave nothing away.
She thanked them warmly, but inside she resented every word.
UsageOften at the start of a clause or after but: he smiled, but inside he was hurting.
Similarinwardly, privately, secretly, internally
Oppositeoutwardly, openly
6
from the groupadjective
Originating from, arranged by, or belonging to someone within an organization.
Investigators suspected inside help had disabled the alarms.
The leak came from an inside source close to the board.
UsageMostly in set pairs: inside information, an inside job, the inside story, an inside man.
Similarinternal, in-house
Oppositeoutside, external
Note
An inside job is a crime planned with help from within. An inside story is the account behind the public one.
7
secret knowledgenounslanguncountable
Privileged information known only to certain people directly involved.
A well-placed friend gave her the inside on the company's plans.
Before the big race, every gambler at the track wanted the inside on how the favorite's injured leg was healing.
UsageUsually the inside on something: get, give or have the inside on the plans.
Similarlowdown, scoop, dope
Note
It nearly always takes the definite article and an on-phrase naming the subject: Jean Forray's The View from the Bottom (2000) asks who has "the inside on the new ratings." Its close relative is the "from within" adjective, as in inside information.

Less common meanings

8
preposition
Within a given period of time; in less than the stated span.
The team completed the rescue inside thirty minutes.
She paid back the loan inside a year.
UsageWith a span of time: inside a week, sometimes inside of a week, stressing how quickly.
Similarwithin, under
Note
Some writers add of. Joseph C. Lincoln's Mr. Pratt's Patients (1913) has a talker who mesmerizes "inside of two flaps of a herring's fin." With or without of, the phrase sets a limit, often with a hint of speed: the thing takes less than the span named.
9
gutsnouncolloquialusually plural
The organs within a person's or animal's body, especially the stomach and bowels.
A sharp pain ran through his insides as the cramp set in.
The rich food upset her insides for the rest of the evening.
UsageUsually with a possessive: my insides, her insides. In medical writing, organs is the expected word.
Similarguts, stomach, innards, belly, bowels
10
in prisonadverbcolloquial
In prison, or being sent to prison.
He's been inside since the trial ended last spring.
Three of the gang ended up inside after the raid.
UsageOften with a span of time: ten years inside, spent three years inside. No place needs to follow.
Oppositeout
Note
The prison sense rests on the same picture as the "indoors" adverb: being inside walls, here the walls of a prison.
11
inner curvenoun
The side of a curved road or racetrack that follows the shorter arc, nearer the center of the course.
The cyclist hugged the inside through the final corner to hold her lead.
Drivers fight for the inside going into the first turn.
UsageUsually on the inside or to the inside: pass on the inside of the bend.
Oppositeoutside
12
baseballadjective
Of a pitch, passing close to the batter's side of home plate as it crosses.
The umpire called the inside pitch a ball.
He jammed the hitter with an inside curve.
Oppositeoutside
Note
Location in baseball is measured from the batter's point of view. The word works before a noun, as in an inside curve, and after a verb, as when a pitch comes in just a bit inside, which often explains why the umpire called a ball. Pitchers go inside to crowd a hitter and limit the room to extend the arms. The opposite location is outside.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Inside pitch location is relative to the batter. filestore.scouting.org
Pitching inside can crowd a hitter and prevent full arm extension. en.wikipedia.org
Outside is the opposite pitch location. mlb.com
13
curb laneadjectiveUK
Positioned at or toward the side of the road nearer the curb: the left where driving is on the left, the right where it is on the right.
Keep to the inside lane until your exit.
The bus stopped in the inside lane to pick up passengers.
Oppositeoutside
14
curb sidenounUK
The side of the road nearer the curb: the left in countries that drive on the left, the right where driving is on the right.
The truck drifted toward the inside and clipped the curb.
Slower traffic should keep to the inside.
Oppositeoutside
Note
Here the reference point is the edge of the road, not a bend. The usual motorway warning against overtaking on the inside means passing on the curb side, even where the road curves. Context tells the reader which picture is meant: in racing or when describing a turn, it is usually the shorter, tighter line.
15
coach passengernoundatedUKcountable
Someone traveling in the enclosed interior of a coach or carriage rather than on its outside seats.
So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourne, glides / The Derby dilly, carrying three insides.
1798, John Hookham Frere, George Canning
So, what between Mr. Dowler's stories, and Mrs. Dowler's charms, and Mr. Pickwick's good humour, and Mr. Winkle's good listening, the insides contrived to be very companionable all the way.
1836, Charles Dickens, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
Oppositeoutside
Note
A word from the age of stagecoaches, now dated. Passengers were counted as insides and outsides according to where they rode. Lines Canning later added to The Loves of the Triangles, the 1798 parody he wrote with Frere and Ellis, have the Derby dilly "carrying three insides," and Dickens in the 1830s lets "the insides" grow companionable on the road. Today it belongs only in writing about coaching days.
16
adjective
Of a wife, child or family: belonging to a man's marriage or living in his home, as opposed to an 'outside' one.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of inside apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English ynneside, equivalent to in- plus side, with related forms in other Germanic languages such as German Innenseite and Swedish insida.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Inside derives from Middle English ynneside. en.wiktionary.org
Inside is equivalent to in- plus side. en.wiktionary.org
German Innenseite and Swedish insida are related comparable forms. en.wiktionary.org