# inch

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɪnt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #3,067

## Definitions
1. An English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm, conceived as roughly the width of a thumb.
2. Any very short distance.
3. Any of various similar units of length in other traditional systems of measurement.
4. A depth of one inch on the ground, used as a measurement of rainfall.
5. A depth of one inch in a glass, used as a rough measurement of alcoholic beverages.

## Etymology
From Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, borrowed from Latin uncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Cognate with Middle Dutch enke (“thumb, thumb's width, inch”). Doublet of ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

## Easily confused with
- **ink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ink)
- **inn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-inn)
- **ins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ins)
- **int** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-int)
- **Ind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ind)
- **IOC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ioc)
- **IRC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-irc)
- **IPC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ipc)
- **ITC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-itc)
- **ISC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-isc)
- **IWC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-iwc)
- **ith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ith)
- **into** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-into)
- **info** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-info)
- **Indy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-indy)
- **Indo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-indo)
- **itch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-itch)
- **incl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-incl)
- **inns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-inns)
- **IPCC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inch-vs-ipcc)

## Common misspellings (6)
`icnh`, `incch`, `inchh`, `inhc`, `innch`, `nich`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/inch