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Meanings of by inches in English

By a short distance.

        Synonyms
        Examples for "little by little"
        Examples for "little by little"
        1
        He had it brought little by little carefully packed in sealed cases.
        The Moon-Voyage
        2
        The poison of sloth will get into the soul little by little.
        How to Live a Holy Life
        3
        Proofs of the imposture were little by little discovered by the critics.
        English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English Hist...
        4
        The gas would burn quietly, and we should descend little by little.
        Five Weeks in a Balloon / Or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa...
        5
        Then, little by little, the facts began to clarify in his mind.
        The Plunderer
        1
        People jockeying for position, nudging their way across the flow, pressing forward or backward by small degrees.
        Larry's kidney: being the true story of how I found myself in ch...
        2
        Mr, Peabody worked his way up by small degrees, from a clerk in America to a banker in London.
        Thrift
        3
        He had begun by small degrees, just taking a nip now and then, till he had become-andthat very rapidly- aharddrinker.
        Will Weatherhelm: The Yarn of an Old Sailor
        4
        Translate: "and understand to what end the New Comedy was adopted, which by small degrees degenerated into a mere show of skill in mimicry."
        Meditations
        5
        By small degrees it gathered pace.
        An Englishman Looks at the World / Being a Series of Unrestraine...
        Usage of by inches in English
        1
        It gets into the soul; it is stagnation; you die by inches.
        The Blind Spot
        2
        Given that races are often won by inches, crabs are a no-no.
        The Irish Times
        3
        He had got the door open by inches, but not far enough.
        The Hellbound Heart
        4
        Better be poisoned at once than die by inches in this way.
        Hunting the Lions
        5
        It missed us by inches, but we got out of the way.
        White night
        6
        His rocket fired anyway, missing me by inches, exploding several feet away.
        Sea of Rust
        7
        We have heard of dying by inches: this is living by inches.
        The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 102, April, 1866 / A Magazi...
        8
        At Greenock one measures the rainfall not by inches, but by yards.
        The Lost Naval Papers
        9
        The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off.
        Catch-22
        10
        It missed Complain by inches only, for he stood half behind it.
        Non-Stop
        11
        Rivaldo's blistering effort beats the wall and clears the bar by inches.
        The Guardian
        12
        After all one may as well be drowned as die by inches.
        The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars
        13
        If so, you shall never have it, though we burn by inches.
        The Lady of Blossholme
        14
        She was taller than Haven by inches, and broader through the shoulders.
        Bullet
        15
        Instinctively, he leapt back and the metal pipe missed him by inches.
        Carte Blanche
        16
        He dug patiently, steadily, hour after hour, enlarging the hole by inches.
        Greyfriars Bobby