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inside

2 syllables
Quick answer

As a noun, inside means the interior or inner part. As an adjective, it means of or pertaining to the inner surface, limit or boundary.

Meanings of inside

26 meanings

noun

  1. The interior or inner part.

    “The inside of the building has been extensively restored.”

  2. The left-hand side of a road if one drives on the left, or right-hand side if one drives on the right.

    “On a motorway, you should never pass another vehicle on the inside.”

  3. The side of a curved road, racetrack etc. that has the shorter arc length; the side of a racetrack nearer the interior of the course or some other point of reference.

    “The car in front drifted wide on the bend, so I darted up the inside to take the lead.”

  4. colloquial(in the plural) The interior organs of the body, especially the guts.

    “Eating that stuff will damage your insides.”

  5. slangThe inside scoop; information known only to certain involved people.

  6. The region that is inside of somethinglocation

    Similar: interior
  7. The inner or enclosed surface of somethinglocation

    Similar: interior
Older and rare meanings (1)
  1. datedUKcolloquialA passenger within a coach or carriage, as distinguished from one upon the outside.

adjective

  1. Of or pertaining to the inner surface, limit or boundary.

    “The inside surface of the cup is unpainted.”

  2. Nearer to the interior or centre of something.

    “Because of the tighter bend, it's harder to run in an inside lane.”

    “All the window seats were occupied, so she took an inside seat.”

  3. Originating from, arranged by, or being someone inside an organisation.

    “The reporter had received inside information about the forthcoming takeover.”

    “The robbery was planned by the security guard: it was an inside job.”

  4. of a personLegally married to or related to (e.g. born in wedlock to), and/or residing with, a specified other person (parent, child, or partner); (of a marriage, relationship, etc) existing between two such people.

  5. baseballof a pitchToward the batter as it crosses home plate.

    “The first pitch is ... just a bit inside.”

  6. At or towards or the left-hand side of the road if one drives on the left, or right-hand side if one drives on the right.

    “the inside lane of the motorway”

  7. Relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space

    “he reached into his inside jacket pocket”

    “inside out”

    “an inside pitch is between home plate and the batter”

  8. Confined to an exclusive group

    “privy to inner knowledge”

    “inside information”

    “privileged information”

    Similar: inner, privileged
  9. Away from the outer edge

    “the inside lane”

adverb

  1. Within or towards the interior of something; within the scope or limits of something (a place), especially a building.

    “It started raining, so I went inside.”

    “The secretive residents of the massive city-ship tended to stay inside.”

  2. colloquialIn or to prison.

    “He spent ten years inside, doing a stretch for burglary.”

  3. Indoors.

    “It was snowing, so the children stayed inside.”

  4. Intimately, secretly; without expressing what one is feeling or thinking.

    “Are you laughing at us inside?”

  5. On the inside

    “inside, the car is a mess”

    Similar: within
  6. With respect to private feelings

    “inwardly, she was raging”

    Similar: inwardly
  7. In reality

    “she is very kind at heart”

    Similar: at heart, at bottom, deep down, in spite of appearance

preposition

  1. Within the interior of something, closest to the center or to a specific point of reference.

    “He placed the letter inside the envelope.”

  2. Within a period of time.

    “The job was finished inside two weeks.”

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).

inside around the world

UKA passenger within a coach or carriage, as distinguished from one upon the outside.

Synonyms by meaning

All synonyms for inside →
adjective: confined to an exclusive group
noun: the region that is inside of something
noun: the inner or enclosed surface of something
adverb: within a building
adverb: on the inside
adverb: with respect to private feelings
Oppositesoutside

Words that rhyme with inside

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