in / in/ • prep. 1. expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else: living in Deep River dressed in their Sunday best soak it in warm soapy water she saw it in the rearview mirror. ∎  expressing motion with the result that something ends up within or surrounded by something else: don't put dye in the bathtub he got in his car and drove off.2. expressing a period of time during which an event takes place or a situation remains the case: they met in 1885 at one o'clock in the morning I hadn't seen him in years.3. expressing the length of time before a future event is expected to take place: I'll see you in fifteen minutes.4. (often followed by a noun without a determiner) expressing a state or condition: to be in love I've got to put my affairs in order a woman in her thirties laid out in a straight line. ∎  indicating the quality or aspect with respect to which a judgment is made: no discernible difference in quality.5. expressing inclusion or involvement: I read it in a book acting in a film.6. indicating someone's occupation or profession: she works in publishing.7. indicating the language or medium used: say it in Polish put it in writing. ∎  indicating the key in which a piece of music is written: Mozart's Piano Concerto in E flat.8. as an integral part of (an activity): in planning public expenditure it is better to be prudent. • adv. 1. expressing movement with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else: come in bring it in presently the admiral breezed in.2. expressing the situation of being enclosed or surrounded by something: we were locked in.3. expressing arrival at a destination: the train got in very late.4. (of the tide) rising or at its highest level.5. Baseball (of an infielder or outfielder) playing closer to home plate than usual: looking for a force, they brought the infield in. ∎  (of a pitch) very close to the batter: he threw a fastball in and up a little.• adj. 1. (of a person) present at one's home or office: we knocked at the door but there was no one in.2. inf. fashionable: pastels and light colors are in this year the in thing to do.3. (of the ball in tennis and similar games) landing within the designated playing area. • n. a position of influence: he would ensure an in with the nominee.PHRASES: be in for have good reason to expect (typically something unpleasant): it looks as if we're in for a storm. ∎  (be in for it) have good reason to expect trouble or retribution. have it in for someone see have.in all see all.in and out of being a frequent visitor to (a house) or frequent inmate of (an institution): he was in and out of jail for most of his twenties.in on privy to (a secret): they were in on the conspiracy.in so far as see insofar.in that for the reason that (used to specify the respect in which a statement is true): I was fortunate in that I had friends.in with inf. enjoying friendly relations with: I was in demand because I was in with the right people.the ins and outs inf. all the details (of something).

in1 prep. marking bounds or limits within which. OE. in = OS., OHG. (Du., G.), Goth. in, ON. i, rel. to L. in (older en), Gr. en(i), Olr. i n-, in, W. yn, Lith. ī, OSL. vŭ(n-) :- IE. *en, *n. Distinct in origin from in adv., which repr. (i) OE. in(n), used with vbs. of motion = OS., Du. in, OHG. īn (with secondary lengthening), G. ein, ON., Goth. inn, (ii) OE. inne, used with vbs. of position = OS. inna, OHG. inne, ON. inni, Goth. inna, orig. loc.

Arising orig. from syntactical juncture of adv. in with a vb. are stable comps. such as inbred, income, incoming, ingrowing, inlay, inroad, many of the sbs. depending on phrasal units, as inlet, f. let in. In attrib. or adj. use in is or has been variously used, as in in-land, inshore, inside, in-patient. Cf. INNER, INMOST.

in2 L. in (see prec.) with the abl. ‘in’, with the acc. ‘into’, ‘against’, ‘towards, for the purpose of’, in many phrases frequent in Eng. contexts from XVI onwards, as in extenso, in extremis, in flagrante delicto, in medias res, in memoriam, in situ, in toto, in vacuo. For designations of sizes of books, e.g. in-folio, see the sbs. FOLIO. etc.

in in extremis at the point of death; Latin, from in ‘in’ + extremis, ablative plural of extremus ‘outermost’.
in memoriam in memory of (a dead person); Latin. The phrase was used by Tennyson in In Memoriam A. H. H., a poem, published in 1850, written in memory of his friend Arthur Hallam, who died suddenly in 1833 at the age of 22.

IN • abbr. Indiana (in official postal use).