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View synonyms for within

within

[ with-in, with- ]

adverb

  1. in or into the interior or inner part; inside.
  2. in or into a house, building, etc.; indoors:

    The fire was burning on the hearth within.

  3. on, or as regards, the inside; internally.
  4. inside an enclosed place, area, room, etc.:

    He was startled by a cry from within.

  5. in the mind, heart, or soul; inwardly.


preposition

  1. in or into the interior of or the parts or space enclosed by:

    within city walls.

  2. inside of; in.
  3. in the compass or limits of; not beyond:

    within view;

    to live within one's income.

  4. at or to some point not beyond, as in length or distance; not farther than:

    within a radius of a mile.

  5. at or to some amount or degree not exceeding:

    within two degrees of freezing.

  6. in the course or period of, as in time:

    within one's memory;

    within three minutes.

  7. inside of the limits fixed or required by; not transgressing:

    within the law.

  8. in the field, sphere, or scope of:

    within the family;

    within one's power.

noun

  1. the inside of a place, space, or building.

within

/ wɪˈðɪn /

preposition

  1. in; inside; enclosed or encased by
  2. before (a period of time) has elapsed

    within a week

  3. not beyond the limits of; not differing by more than (a specified amount) from

    within seconds of the world record

    live within your means



adverb

  1. formal.
    inside; internally

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Word History and Origins

Origin of within1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English withinne (preposition and adverb), Old English withinnan (adverb), equivalent to with with- + innan “from within,” equivalent to in in + -an, suffix of motion

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Idioms and Phrases

  • in (within) reason
  • spitting distance, within
  • wheels within wheels

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Example Sentences

Without it, they say, the disease would surely kill her within two years.

Within a few swipes, I was already feeling that burst of romantic optimism you need the first day of the (Christian) new year.

Her travel clique has been known to arrive at an airport, bags packed, passport-in-hand, within hours of spotting a deal.

Within minutes, it seems, of the disclosures of these tragic events, large numbers of people chose a side and stuck to it.

Whatever happened overtook them both within a minute or so of that altitude change request, and they were never heard from again.

You need but will, and it is done; but if you relax your efforts, you will be ruined; for ruin and recovery are both from within.

Within the past thirty years civilization has rapidly taken possession of this lovely region.

At present, Louis was too self-absorbed by the struggles within him, to look deep into what was passing around him.

The Senora Moreno's heart broke within her, when those words passed her lips to her adored Felipe.

General Santa Anna is within a mile of us with fifteen hundred men.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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