Meanings
- excessivefigurativelyAlmost as much as possible; to an extreme extent.
Every drawer had the names of the tools inside written on the front. There were also several parts lockers; they too were labeled and organized within an inch of their lives.
2000, Dana Stabenow, Midnight Come Again, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Minotaur, →ISBN, page 77
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseTo a point where one is at great risk of death; or (figuratively, hyperbolic) of severe danger or trouble.
Translations
Hungarian félholtra, kis/hajszál híján agyon-
- félholtrato a point where one is at great risk of death
- kis/hajszál híján agyon-to a point where one is at great risk of death
- agyba-főbeto a point of severe danger or trouble
- hogy attól koldulto a point of severe danger or trouble
- alaposanalmost as much as possible; to an extreme extent
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with within an inch of one's life
Cite this entry
within an inch of one's life. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20an%20inch%20of%20one's%20life
“within an inch of one's life.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20an%20inch%20of%20one's%20life. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “within an inch of one's life,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/within%20an%20inch%20of%20one's%20life.
Source: within an inch of one's life on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.