Inside

How to spell inside

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce inside

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inside mean?

1. prepositionWithin the bounds of an enclosed space or object; in the interior.
2. nounThe inner part, surface, or interior of something.

Inside in a sentence

• preposition

  The keys were inside the locked drawer the whole time.

• noun

  The inside of the kettle had a thick layer of limescale.

• preposition

  Because of the storm, the children played inside all afternoon.

• noun

  He painted the inside of the cupboard a pale grey.

Where does inside come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound, formed by joining the preposition 'in', which goes back to Old English 'in' meaning 'within' or 'inside of', with the noun 'side', from Old English 'side', the flank of a body or the surface of a thing. Both halves descend from the Germanic stock that English shares with Dutch and German, so neither part was borrowed from a classical language. The combined form 'inside' appears in late Middle English, first describing the inner part or surface of something and later widening into a preposition and adverb meaning 'within an enclosed space'. Because both elements are still ordinary modern words, the spelling holds no surprises: it is simply 'in' followed by 'side', with no doubled letters and no silent ones. The chief value of remembering the two parts is that it removes any temptation to insert a stray space or hyphen.

How the word is built

• in- (within)
• side (flank, surface)