in
/ən/ preposition, verb, adverb, noun, adjective
Also a form of inch
- preposition Contained by; inside. “The dog is in the kennel.”
- preposition Within the bounds or limits of. “I like living in the city.”
- preposition Surrounded by; among; amidst. “We are in the enemy camp.”
- preposition Wearing (an item of clothing).
- preposition Expressing abstract containment. “There wasn't much of interest in her speech.”
- preposition Part of; a member of; out of; from among. “You are one in a million.”
- preposition During (a period of time or event). “My birthday is in the first week of December.”
- preposition Within (a certain elapsed time); by the end of. “Will you be able to finish this in a week?”
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To enclose.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest.
- adverb At or towards the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room. “Suddenly a strange man walked in.”
- adverb Towards the speaker or other reference point. “They flew in from London last night.”
- adverb So as to be enclosed or surrounded by something. “Bring the water to the boil and drop the vegetables in.”
- adverb After the beginning of something. “The show still didn't become interesting 20 minutes in.”
- adverb (in combination, after a verb) Denotes a gathering of people assembled for the stated activity, sometimes, though not always, suggesting a protest.
- noun A position of power or influence, or a way to get it. “His parents got him an in with the company.”
- noun (chiefly in the plural) One who, or that which, is in; especially, one who is in office.
- noun (sports) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting; see innings.
- adjective (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or at one's office or place of work. “Is Mr. Smith in?”
- adjective (not comparable) Located inside something. “Little by little I pushed the snake into the basket, until finally all of it was in.”
Synonyms
inch indium atomic number 49 Indiana Hoosier State inwards inward
Antonyms
Etymology
Preposition and verb from Middle English in, from Old English in, from Proto-Germanic *in.
Adverb, noun and adjective from Middle English in, from Old English inn and inne, from Proto-Germanic *innai.
Sense 1/2 "in"/"into" are from the original PIE prefix, with locative/accusative case respectively. Sense 3/4 "qualification"/"means" are from the PIE metaphor of all infinitives coming from locatives.
Webster’s 1913
- preposition The specific signification of in is situation or place with respect to surrounding, environment, encompassment, etc. It is used with verbs signifying being, resting, or moving within limits, or within circumstances or conditions of any kind conceived of as limiting, confining, or investing, either wholly or in part. In its different applications, it approaches some of the meanings of, and sometimes is interchangeable with, within, into, on, at, of, and among. It is used: --
- preposition With reference to space or place; as, he lives in Boston; he traveled in Italy; castles in the air. The babe lying in a manger. Luke ii. 16.
- adverb Not out; within; inside. In, the preposition, becomes an adverb by omission of its object, leaving it as the representative of an adverbial phrase, the context indicating what the omitted object is; as, he takes in the situation (i. e., he comprehends it in his mind); the Republicans were in (i. e., in office); in at one ear and out at the other (i. e., in or into the head); his side was in (i. e., in the turn at the bat); he came in (i. e., into the house).
- adverb With privilege or possession; --used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin; as, in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband. Burrill. In and in breeding. See under Breeding.
Etymology [AS. in; akin to D. & G. in, Icel. i, Sw. & Dan. i, OIr. & L. in, Gr. In-, Inn.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “in”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details