inches

Noun (1)

inch (plural inches or (UK colloquial) inch, abbreviation in /in. or ″)

1. An English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm.
   • One rule of thumb is that the width of an adult thumb can approximate a length of one inch.
2. (figuratively) Any very short distance.
   • Don't move an inch!
3. Any of various similar units of length in other traditional systems of measurement.
   • At the time of Augustus, the Roman inch was standardized at a length about 3% shorter than the modern English one.
4. A depth of one inch on the ground, used as a measurement of rainfall.
   • Expect around 2 inches of rain on Saturday afternoon.
5. A depth of one inch in a glass, used as a rough measurement of alcoholic beverages.
   • My partner only drinks about a 1 inch pour with dinner, leaving the rest of the bottle for me.

Noun (2)

inch (plural inches)

1. (Ireland, Scotland) A small island; an islet.
   • The blackening wave is edged with white; / To inch and rock the sea-mews fly.1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co....

See all 13 meanings of inch