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Inroad is a combination of in and road, both of which are pretty mundane, as far as words go. But the first-and-oldest-meaning of inroad hints at a meaning of road other than the "way for traveling" one. Beginning back in the days of Old English, road referred to an armed hostile incursion made on horseback. (Raid comes from this use of road and also formerly specified incursions on horseback.) Road, as well as inroad, has lost its violent connotation. While inroads are often made at the expense of someone or something, they are at times simply advances, as when an artist is said to be "making inroads into a community."
Examples of inroad in a Sentence
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 24 July 2025
Additionally, Earle-Sears and Miyares benefited from Youngkin’s 2021 campaign, which saw Republicans make inroads throughout the commonwealth.
—Julia Manchester, The Hill, 23 July 2025
Netflix, which has made huge inroads into the UK in recent years with shows like Adolescence and Fool Me Once, was down in fourth with 8%, followed by Channel 4 on 6%.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 21 July 2025
But some Republican lawmakers worry cutting Medicaid could undermine GOP inroads to the working class.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for inroad
Cite this Entry
“Inroad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inroad. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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