Inlet

How to spell inlet

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce inlet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inlet mean?

1. nounA small narrow arm of the sea, a lake, or a river that reaches into the land.
2. nounA pipe or opening through which a liquid or gas is admitted into a machine or system.

Inlet in a sentence

• The fishing boats sheltered in a quiet inlet along the coast.

• The mechanic cleaned the air inlet before reassembling the engine.

• A wooden footbridge crossed the shallow inlet near the marina.

• A blocked water inlet caused the pump to overheat.

Where does inlet come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, formed simply from the preposition in and the verb let, which descends from the Old English lǣtan meaning 'to allow to pass' or 'to permit'. The earliest recorded uses, around the late 1500s, carried the literal idea of a place or opening that 'lets in', whether that meant an entrance, a passage, or a means of admission. From there the word settled into two enduring senses: a narrow stretch of water that the sea or a river lets into the land, and any pipe or opening through which a fluid is admitted into a machine. Because both parts of the word are ordinary, transparent English elements, the spelling has stayed completely regular over the centuries. The single t at the end matches the verb let, which is why there is no temptation to double it.

How the word is built

• in- (in, into)
• let (from Old English lǣtan, to let or allow to pass)