Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word in. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word in, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say in in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word in you have here. The definition of the word in will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofin, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
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.
The ball was accidentally kicked in Kevin Nolan's face in the opening seconds of the contest – an incident that set the tone for an extremely uncomfortable encounter for the Premier League side.
Less water gets in your boots this way.
She stood there looking in the window longingly.
Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance.
In returning to the vault, I had no very sure purpose in mind; only a vague surmise that this finding of Blackbeard's coffin would somehow lead to the finding of his treasure.
In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment.
Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
Towards the speaker or other reference point.
They flew in from London last night.
For six hours the tide flows in, then for another six hours it flows out.
So as to be enclosed or surrounded by something.
Bring the water to the boil and drop the vegetables in.
After the beginning of something.
2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2-2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:
The Black Cats had a mountain to climb after James Morrison's header and Shane Long's neat side-foot finish gave Albion a 2-0 lead five minutes in.
The show still didn't become interesting 20 minutes in.
(in combination, after a verb)Denotes a gathering of people assembled for the stated activity, sometimes, though not always, suggesting a protest.
1987 February 1, T. R. Witomski, “Zeitgeist or Poltergeist? Why Gay Books Are So Bad”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 28, page 9:
Holleran's and White's diminishing capacities as writers does not affect their publishing ins': the writer the house knows is always better than the writer the house doesn't know.
His parents got him an in with the company.
(chiefly in the plural) One who, or that which, is in; especially, one who is in office.
1827, Benjamin Chew, A Sketch of the Politics, Relations, and Statistics, of the Western World, page 192:
This memoir has nothing to do with the question between the ins and the outs; it is intended neither to support nor to assail the administration; it is general in its views upon a general and national subject; […]
2010, Joe R. Lansdale, Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal, page 123:
“[…] He […] took a rifle out of the batch and shot at me. I was lucky he was such a crummy shot.” “Why would he do that?” “I think he's in with them, Doctor.” “Them? You mean Ned and Cody?” “All of them. Hickok, the split tail, the whole lot.”
(informal) Having a favourable position, such as a position of influence or expected gain, in relation to another person.
I need to keep in with the neighbours in case I ever need a favour from them.
I think that bird fancies you. You're in there, mate!
2004, The Streets (lyrics and music), “Could Well Be In”:
I saw this thing on ITV the other week, Said, that if she played with her hair, she's probably keen She's playing with her hair, well regularly, So I reckon I could well be in.
1888, H.C. O’Neill, Edith A. Barnett, Our Nurses and the Work They Have to Do, page 81:
Blocks of compressed coal keep the fire in for a long time, but they give out very little heat.
1894, Henry Kingsley, The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn - Volume 2, page 183:
“At all events,” said the Doctor, “the fire’s in, and here’s the camp-oven, too. Somebody will be here soon. I will go in and light my pipe.”
1901, William Francis Barry, The Wizard’s Knot, page 231:
Was there any person in your own house at Renmore to keep the fire in while you were here?.
2011, Rosemary Sutcliff, The Eagle of the Ninth Chronicles:
Normally when they camped in the wild they took turns to sit up and keep the fire in while the others slept, […].
2019, A.L.Lester, Shadows on the Border:
He turned and started making up the range to keep the fire in overnight, and heard the front door click and Grant’s motor fire up. Sleep. He needed to sleep.
^ Alexander M Burrill (1850–1851) “IN”, in A New Law Dictionary and Glossary:, volumes (please specify |part= or |volume=I or II), New York, N.Y.: John S. Voorhies,, →OCLC.
Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
“in” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
“in”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Er geht ins (in das) Haus. ― He goes into the house.
Wir gehen in die Schweiz. ― We are going to Switzerland.
Wir treten in ein neues Zeitalter ein. ― We are coming into a new age.
Usage notes
The preposition in is used with the accusative case if the verb shows movement from one place to another, whereas it is used with the dative case if the verb shows location.
This variant of i is used before vowel-initial words, before bhur(“your pl”), before dhá(“two”), before titles of books, films, and the like, and before foreign words that resist mutation.
In older texts, the n is spelled together with a vowel-initial word (e.g. i n-aice le instead of modern in aice le(“beside”) and inÉirinn or in-Éirinn instead of modern in Éirinn(“in Ireland”). Also in older texts, in bhur may be spelled inbhur.
omne adeo genvs in terris hominvmqve ferarvmqve et genvs æqvorevm pecvdes pictæqve volvcres in fvrias ignemqve rvvnt
So far does every species on earth of man and beast, whether the aquatic species, livestock, or painted-winged, collapse into the frenzies and the fire.
omne adeo genvs in terris hominvmqve ferarvmqve et genvs æqvorevm pecvdes pictæqve volvcres in fvrias ignemqve rvvnt
So far does every species on earth of man and beast, whether the aquatic species, livestock, or painted-winged, collapse into the frenzies and the fire.
1774, Finnur Jónsson, Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiæ 1:
De introductione religionis Christianæ in Islandiam.
A user suggests that this Middle English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “some of these definitions seem anachronistic”.
Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup(+) or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
Forðon dōmġeorne · drēoriġne oft in hyra brēostcofan · bindað fæste;
Therefore, eager for glory men oft bind tightly in their breast-chambers the sad one.
Usage notes
In the West Saxon dialect, this word was replaced by on during the separate prehistory of Old English. However, it was still used as a prefix to form many words such as ingang(“entrance”), inġewinn(“civil war”), inġeþanc(“inner thoughts”), inlendisċ(“native”), intinga(“cause”), and inweorc(“indoor work”), and it was still implied by derived adverbs such as inne(“inside”), innan(“from the inside”), and inn (“in,” adverb).
the (masculine singular nominative/accusative; feminine singular accusative; masculine/feminine/neuter dual nominative/accusative/genitive)
c.800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 13d7
c.800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 13d7
Beóigidir in spirut in corp in ḟect so.
"The spirit now quickens the body."
Usage notes
Triggers nasalization of the following noun in the masculine and feminine singular accusative.
Triggers lenition of the following noun as an alternative spelling of ind.
Unknown. Probably related to Middle Welsh a(interrogative particle). The n may be from Proto-Celtic *ne (compare Latin -ne(interrogative particle) < nē(“not”)).[1] Has been compared to Latin an(“or, whether”, interrogative particle).[2]
Alternative form of i(“in”) (often before cach, cech(“each, every”) and for(“your pl”))
Etymology 4
Probably originally the masculine/neuter dative singular of the definite article (see Etymology 1); compare Middle Welsh and Welshyn.[3]
Particle
in
Used with the masculine/neuter dative singular of an adjective to form the corresponding adverb: -ly
c.800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 30a3
Amal nád n-airigther ⁊ nád fintar a ndu·gníther hi suidi, sic ba in ḟortgidiu ⁊ ba hi temul du·gníth Saul cona muntair intleda ⁊ erelca fri Dauid.
As what is done in this is not perceived and discovered, so it was covertly and it was in darkness that Saul with his people was making snares and ambushes against David.
Canti seddi in crassi tóia? ― How many are you in your class?
Paràuri ischritti in rùiu ― Words written in red
Fabeddàbani in sassaresu ― They were speaking (in) Sassarese
1866, chapter III, in Giovanni Spano, transl., L'ebagneliu sigundu S. Matteju [The Gospel according to St. Matthew] (overall work in Italian and Sassarese), London, translation of Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, verse 1, page 7:
In chissi dì poi vinisi Giuanni Battilta pridigghendi in lu diseltu di la Giudea
In those days, then came John the Baptist, preaching in the desert of Judaea
1989, Giovanni Maria Cherchi, “Puisia [Poetry]”, in La poesia di l'althri [The poetry of others], Sassari: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, page 19:
E s’ammenta di nommi immintigaddi, un basgiu dazi a facci risurani, chi più no li vidia che in sonni fei
And she remembers forgotten names, gives a kiss to smiling faces she would only see again in nightmares
(literally, “And she remembers herself of forgotten names, a kiss gives to laughing faces, which she didn't see anymore except in bad dreams”)
References
Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes
1952, Arie de Jong, Diatek nulik: Gospul ma ‚Matthaeus’. Kapit: VII:
E kis-li? Logol cipi in log bloda olik, e bemi in log olik no küpol!
Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own?
1940, “Pötü yelacen”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 1:
In Siyop ya dü yels mödik krigastad bevü Yapän e Tsyinän dareigon, ed in Yurop krig jenon bevü Deutän e Polän, Linglän e Fransän, e bevü Rusän e Suomiyän.
In Asia, a state of war has been going on for years between Japan and China, and in Europe war is being waged between Germany and Poland, England and France, and between Russia and Finland.
1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 84:
At by mizluck was ee-pit t'drive in.
Who by misluck was placed to drive in.
1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 9, page 88:
A clugercheen gother: all, ing pile an in heep,
A crowd gathered up: all, in pile and in heap,
1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 94:
An gooude usquebaugh ee-sarith uth in cooanès.
And good whiskey served out in wooden cans.
1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 96:
Raree met in plathearès, ee-zet in a rooe,
There was choice meat in platters, set in a row,
1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 104:
Lickweese mee been deeth in aar heeve.
Likewise my bees die in their hive.
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 84
Note: except for yín, object pronouns have a high tone following a low or mid tone monosyllabic verb, and a mid tone following a high tone. For complex verbs, the tone does not change.