inning
inning Lexical Profile
inning Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American One of the nine regulation divisions of a baseball or softball game during which each team has a turn at bat, bounded by three outs for each side.
"The home team rallied to score four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning."
A period during which a person, group, or political party holds power, influence, or an opportunity for action and achievement (usually used in the plural 'innings').
"After a remarkably long and successful innings as chief executive, she decided to step down."
British The act of reclaiming marshy or flooded land from the sea or a river, or the parcel of land so reclaimed.
"Historical records from Kent document the gradual inning of coastal salt marshes for agricultural pasture."
Word Nuance & Usage
In baseball and softball, the singular form 'inning' is used for a single division of the game, whereas in cricket, the word is always used in the plural form 'innings' even when referring to a single turn at bat.
• Rhymes for inning
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'innung', meaning a taking in or gathering in, formed from the verb 'innian' (to get in or lodge). The sporting sense emerged in 18th-century British cricket to denote a team's turn 'in' at bat as opposed to being 'out' in the field.