inning

American  

[in-ing] / ˈɪn ɪŋ /

noun

1. Baseball. a division of a game during which each team has an opportunity to score until three outs have been made against it.

2. a similar opportunity to score in certain other games, as horseshoes.

3. an opportunity for activity; a turn.

   Now the opposition will have its inning.

4. (used with a singular verb) innings,

   1. Cricket. a unit of play in which each team has a turn at bat, the turn of a team ending after ten players are put out or when the team declares.

   2. land reclaimed, especially from the sea.

5. the act of reclaiming marshy or flooded land.

6. enclosure, as of wasteland.

7. the gathering in of crops.

---

inning British  

/ ˈɪnɪŋ /

noun

1. baseball a division of the game consisting of a turn at bat and a turn in the field for each side

2. archaic the reclamation of land from the sea

---

Etymology

Origin of inning

before 900; Middle English inninge, Old English innung a getting in, equivalent to inn ( ian ) to go in + -ung -ing ¹

Explanation

Most baseball games are divided into nine innings. Each inning gives both teams a chance to be up at bat until they get three strikes. Cricket was the first sport to mark periods in innings, or "a team's turn in action during a game," emphasis on the in. While a cricket match can have four innings, the majority of baseball games have nine (though in the case of a tie, an unlimited number of extra innings can be added at the end of a game). At the start of each new inning (and half-inning), the teams switch places and the umpire yells, "Play ball!"

Example Sentences

There is something magical about seeing Ohtani polish off his first inning on the mound, then immediately grab a bat and head to the plate without ever stopping in the dugout.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Gahr 7, JSerra 2: A five-run first inning was key for Gahr.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Huntington Beach 2, Corona 1: The Oilers got the walk-off win in the eighth inning on an RBI double from Dane Cunningham.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

On a night the Dodgers fielded a lineup without Mookie Betts and Will Smith, the team hit five home runs — two by Rushing — and scored in every inning but the second and ninth.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

There’s one out in the bottom of the last inning, and the game’s tied at five, but in my mind, we’ve already won the game and swept this doubleheader.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

• round
• shot
• stint
• stretch