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a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot

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.

A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barleycorns, its length supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. It is also sometimes called a prime ('), composed of twelve seconds (''), as in the duodecimal system of arithmetic.

A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, a critical moment.

To drive by inches, or small degrees.

To deal out by inches; to give sparingly.

To advance or retire by inches or small degrees; to move slowly.

An island; - often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inchcolm, Inchkeith, etc.

Measurement an inch in any dimension, whether length, breadth, or thickness; - used in composition; as, a two-inch cable; a four-inch plank.

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.

A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barleycorns, its length supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. It is also sometimes called a prime ('), composed of twelve seconds (''), as in the duodecimal system of arithmetic.

A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, a critical moment.

To drive by inches, or small degrees.

To deal out by inches; to give sparingly.

To advance or retire by inches or small degrees; to move slowly.

An island; - often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inchcolm, Inchkeith, etc.

Measurement an inch in any dimension, whether length, breadth, or thickness; - used in composition; as, a two-inch cable; a four-inch plank.

One-twelfth of a foot; a small quantity or degree.

To drive by small degrees; deal out sparingly.

Move slowly.

The twelfth part of a foot: proverbially, a small distance or degree.

A measure, the twelfth part of a foot.

Measuring an inch.

The twelfth part of a foot; a small degree.

In Scotland, a small island.

To drive by small degrees; to give sparingly.

To advance or retire by small degrees. By inches, by slow degrees.

Measuring an inch, as a two-inch board.

In Scot., a small island.

See Table of weights and measures, in appendix.

n. [Anglo-Saxon, Latin] The twelfth part of a foot ;- a small distance, degree or quantity ;- a point of time.

The twelfth part of a foot; a proverbial name for a small quantity; a nice point of time.