inbound

I1N1B3O1U1N1D2
US/ˈɪnbaʊnd/

adjective

Coming in, heading inwards.

“Smith inbounds the ball to Johnson.”

Similar
inwardincoming
Opposite
outbound
OriginEnglish bound ← Middle English bownde ← Old Norse búinn →
CommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

adjectiveinbound (comparative more inbound, superlative most inbound)

comparative more inbound · superlative most inbound

  1. Coming in, heading inwards.

    Taunton station is busy - even more so when the inbound working of my Bristol train arrives, laden with the usual mix of 'staycationers' and locals.

    2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66
verbinbound (third-person singular simple present inbounds, present participle inbounding, simple past and past participle inbounded)

present singular third person inbounds · participle present inbounding · participle past inbounded · past inbounded

  1. ball gamesTo pass a ball inbounds; to throw the ball in.

    Smith inbounds the ball to Johnson.

nouninbound (plural inbounds)

plural inbounds

  1. logisticsAn inbound shipment.
  2. A basketball throw-in.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
outbound

adjectivedirected or moving inward or toward a center

Similar
inwardincoming
Also see
incominginward

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Germanic*in
  3. Proto-West Germanic*in
  4. Old Englishin
  5. Old Englishin-
  6. Middle Englishin-
  7. Englishin-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  9. Proto-Germanic*būaną
  10. Old Norsebúinn
  11. Middle Englishbownde
  12. Englishbound
  13. Englishinbound

From in- + bound.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 入境的, 入站的
  • 入境的 (rùjìng de)coming in, heading inwards
  • 入站的 (rùzhàn de)coming in, heading inwards
Finnish saapuva
  • saapuvacoming in, heading inwards
German hereinkommend
  • hereinkommendcoming in, heading inwards
Greek εισερχόμενος
  • εισερχόμενος (eiserchómenos)coming in, heading inwards
Russian входя́щий
  • входя́щий (vxodjáščij)coming in, heading inwards
Thai ขาเข้า
  • ขาเข้าcoming in, heading inwards
Turkish gelen, gelmekte olan
  • gelencoming in, heading inwards
  • gelmekte olancoming in, heading inwards
Welsh i mewn
  • i mewncoming in, heading inwards
Cite this entry
APA

inbound. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inbound

MLA

“inbound.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inbound. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inbound,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inbound.

Source: inbound on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.