English
inside
Etymology

From Middle English ynneside; equivalent to in- + side.

Compare German Innenseite, Danish inderside, Swedish insida, Dutch binnenzijde, nds-de Binnensied, Binnersied ("inside"), Saterland Frisian Binnersiede.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈɪnsaɪd/, /ɪnˈsaɪd/
Noun

inside (plural insides)

  1. The interior or inner part.
    The inside of the building has been extensively restored.
    • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:
      Looked he o' the inside of the paper?
  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. (dated, UK, colloquial) A passenger within a coach or carriage, as distinguished from one upon the outside.
    • 1798, John Hookham Frere, George Canning, The Loves of the Triangles:
      So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourne, glides / The Derby dilly, carrying three insides.
    • 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC ↗:
      So, what between Mr. Dowler's stories, and Mrs. Dowler's charms, and Mr. Pickwick's good humour, and Mr. Winkle's good listening, the insides contrived to be very companionable all the way.
  6. (slang) The inside scoop; information known only to certain involved people.
    • 2000, Jean Forray, The View from the Bottom, page 58:
      Anyone got the inside on the new ratings? The book is out.
Translations Translations Adjective

inside (not comparable)

  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.
    They wanted to know the inside story behind the celebrity's fall from grace.
  4. (of a person) Legally 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.
    Antonyms: outside
  5. (baseball, of a pitch) Toward 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
Antonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Adverb

inside (not comparable)

  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.
    1. (colloquial) In or to prison.
      He spent ten years inside, doing a stretch for burglary.
  2. Indoors.
    It was snowing, so the children stayed inside.
  3. Intimately, secretly; without expressing what one is feeling or thinking.
    Are you laughing at us inside?
Translations Translations 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.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      Then he commenced to talk, really talk, and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.
Translations

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