Word.ws English Dictionary

inroads

Syllables: in·roads/ˈɪnɹəʊdz/US/ˈɪnˌɹoʊdz/

inroads is the plural of inroad.

Meaning of inroad

Noun

inroad (plural inroads)

  1. (also, figuratively) An advance into enemy territory, an attempted invasion; an encroachment, an incursion.
    • […] That ſince that time he [Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus] was become the ſubject of King Henry [VIII] of England, his Majeſty's [James V of Scotland's] greateſt enemy; and was now the cauſe of all the Inroads made by the English into Scotland: […]1537, David Scott, “Papers Illustrative of the Trial of Jonet Lady Glammys. I. Narrative Taken from the History of Scotland, by David Scott of the Inner Temple.”, in [Robert Pitcairn, compiler]...
  2. (figuratively, plural-normally) Often followed by in, into, or on: initial progress made toward accomplishing a goal or solving a problem.
    • Three weeks into it, I am finally beginning to make inroads on this project.

See all 5 meanings of inroad

Questions about inroads

What is inroads the plural of?
Inroads is the plural of inroad.
How do you pronounce inroads?
Inroads is pronounced /ˈɪnɹəʊdz/ (UK).

Words near inroads in the dictionary

  1. inroad
  2. inroaded
  3. inroader
  4. inroaders
  5. inroading
  6. inroads
  7. inrode
  8. inroll
  9. inrolled
  10. inrolling
  11. inrollment

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: inroads (page history and authors); inroad (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-inroads.wav.

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