Word Confusion: In vs In To vs Into

Adjective:
[Predic.; of a person] Present at one’s home or office

[Informal] Fashionable

[Predic.; of the ball in tennis and similar games] Landing within the designated playing area

Adverb:
Expressing movement with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else

Expressing the situation of being enclosed or surrounded by something

Expressing arrival at a destination

[Of the tide] Rising or at its highest level

[Baseball; of an infielder or outfielder] Playing closer to home plate than usual

• [Of a pitch] Very close to the batter

Combined Form:
Denoting a gathering of people having a common purpose, typically as a form of protest

Noun:
A position of influence

[Chemistry] Chemical element of atomic number 49, a soft silvery-white metal occurring naturally in association with zinc and some other metals (see Abbreviation: In) ²

Prefix:
[Added to adjectives] Not ³

[Added to nouns] Without

• Lacking

In ⁴

• Into
• Toward
• Within

Preposition:
Expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else

• Expressing motion with the result that something ends up within or surrounded by something else

Expressing a period of time during which an event takes place or a situation remains the case

Expressing the length of time before a future event is expected to take place

[Often followed by a noun without a determiner] Expressing a state or condition

• Indicating the quality or aspect with respect to which a judgment is made

Expressing inclusion or involvement

Indicating someone’s occupation or profession

Indicating the language or medium used

• Indicating the key in which a piece of music is written

[With verbal noun] as an integral part of an activity

Suffix:
[Chemistry] Forming names of organic compounds, pharmaceutical products, proteins, etc. ⁶

Expressing the result of an action

Expressing a change of state, condition, or form of

To the occupation, movement, action, transformation, or possession of

Deeply interested or involved

• [Informal; of a person] Taking a lively and active interest in (something)

A function word to indicate a period of time or an extent of space, part of which is passed or occupied

Indicating the direction toward which someone or something is turned when confronting something else

In the direction of

• Indicating a route by which someone or something may arrive at a particular destination

Expressing movement or action with the result that someone or something makes physical contact with something else

[Math] Used as a function word to indicate the dividend in division

Expressing movement or action with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else

Indiana

Adjective:
No one is in.

Green is in this year.

We knocked at the door but there was no one in.

Pastels and light colors are in this year.

It’s the in thing to do.

It’s in.

Adverb:
His mom walked in.

The tide’s in.

Come on in.

Bring it in here.

Presently the admiral breezed in.

We were locked in.

The train got in very late.

The tide is in at 5pm.

Looking for a force, they brought the infield in.

He threw a fastball in and up a little.

Combined Form:
The kids are having a sit-in.

Is this a sleep-in?

Wow, babe, it’s a love-in . . .

Noun:
He would ensure an in with the nominee.

Indium is used in making mirrors that are as reflective as silver mirrors but do not tarnish as quickly.

Prefix:
inanimate

intolerant

inadvertence

inappreciation

induce

influx

inborn

Preposition:
She was hiding in the closet.

He was covered in mud.

He put a candy in his mouth.

They met in 1921.

I’ll see you in half an hour.

My grandparents are living in Deep River.

They were dressed in their Sunday best.

Soak it in warm soapy water first.

She saw it in the rearview mirror.

Don’t you dare put dye in the bathtub!

He got in his car and drove off.

My great-grandparents first met in 1885.

It’s frickin’ one o’clock in the morning!

I hadn’t seen him in years.

I’ll see you in fifteen minutes, I swear.

Ahh, to be in love.

I’ve got to put my affairs in order.

She was a fine-looking woman in her thirties.

It was laid out in a straight line.

There was no discernible difference in quality.

It must be true; I read it in a book.

She thinks she’s acting in this film.

She works in publishing.

I love when you say it in Polish.

Put it in writing, and I’ll consider it.

Mozart’s Piano Concerto is written in E flat.

In planning public expenditure, it is better to be prudent.

Suffix:
insulin

penicillin

dioxin

Now, see, if he had turned his paper into the teacher, that would be a magic trick.

The administrators wouldn’t give in to the protesters.

Come in to my room and see my new computer.

Rachel dived back in to rescue the struggling boy.

It was pathetic how easily her dad gave in to her demands.

Run into the room.

She turned everything she touched into gold.

If you would just look into a book . . .

I will enter into this race with enthusiasm.

Look into this issue.

Mom, you have to plug your power cord into the socket.

Having this much firepower will turn into one hell of a fight.

It was far into the night before that jerk returned.

Don’t look into the sun!

Yeah, I was thinking of going into engineering.

Come on into the house.

I hear George got into a little trouble.

Cover the bowl and put it into the fridge.

Sara got into her car and shut the door.

He walked into a trap sprung by the opposition.

The narrow road that led down into the village.

How can you not love sailing, with the wind blowing into your face.

She was sobbing into her skirt.

Without a clearer insight into what is involved, I simply cannot help you.

It was a peaceful protest which turned into a violent confrontation.

Raspberries and apples are a tasty combination when made into jam.

They forced the club into a humiliating and expensive special general meeting.

Three into twelve equals four.

He’s into gaming.

1. Old English inn or inne is of Germanic origin and related to the German ein, from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin in and the Greek en.
2. Mid-19th century from indigo (because there are two characteristic indigo lines in its spectrum) + -ium.
3. From the Latin.
4. Representing in or the Latin preposition in.
5. Middle English (before the 12th century) from Old English and similar to the High German in, the Latin in and the Greek en.
6. An alteration of -ine.