into - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English in-to, from Old English intō, equivalent to in +‎ to. Cognate with Scots intae.

into

  1. To or towards the inside of.
    Mary danced into the house.
    Pour the wine into the decanter.
    The nomads shave intricate designs into their camels' fur.
    • 1678, William Walker, “Other Ways of Baptizing besides That of a Total Immersion Used in the Church, in All, or Most Ages and Places of It”, in Βακτισμῶν Διδαχή, The Doctrine of Baptisms: or, A Discourse of Dipping and Sprinkling; […], London: […] Robert Pawlet, […], →OCLC, §. 14, pages 86–87:
      Then for St. Ambroſe, his expreſſion is but in aquis ſe merſit, that is, he dipped himſelf in the waters, not in aquas ſe merſit, he dipped himſelf into the waters. A great deal of difference betwixt in and into. The firſt would import that being in the waters he dipped himſelf, which might be ſaid, though he dipped but part of himſelf in them. The ſecond would import his dipping of himſelf into the waters, which would lye fairlieſt to be underſtood of a total immerſion.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2:
      He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
    • 2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1-0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport:
      This time Cudicini was left helpless when Natcho stepped up to expertly curl the ball into the top corner.
  2. To or towards the region of.
    We left the house and walked into the street.
    The eagle flew off into the wide blue sky.
  3. To the condition or state
    They lulled us into thinking we still had time.
  4. Against, especially with force or violence.
    The car crashed into the tree.
    I wasn't careful, and walked into a wall.
    My boss surprised me into admitting I'd been leaving work early lately.
  5. Indicates transition into another form or substance.
    I carved the piece of driftwood into a sculpture of a whale.
    Right before our eyes, Jake turned into a wolf!
    • 2002, Matt Cyr, Something to Teach Me: Journal of an American in the Mountains of Haiti, Educa Vision, Inc., →ISBN, page 25:
      His English is still in its beginning stages, like my Creole, but he was able to translate some Creole songs that he's written into English—not the best English, but English nonetheless.
  6. Indicates division or the creation of subgroups or sections.
    A cow's stomach is divided into four chambers.
    • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
      Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
  7. After the start of.
    About 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot reported a fire on board.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      " […] They talk of you as if you were Croesus—and I expect the beggars sponge on you unconscionably." And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes.
  8. (colloquial) Interested in or attracted to.
    She's really heavily into Shakespeare right now.
    My date for tonight has black hair, and I'm into that.
    • 2021 August 13, Gayle, Sara Davis, David Pittenger, “abcdefu”, in A Study of the Human Experience Volume One‎[1], performed by Gayle:
      I was into you, but I'm over it now / And I was trying to be nice / But nothing's getting through, so let me spell it out […]
    • 2025 June 20, Gooseworx, “Untitled” (19:08 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus‎[2], episode 5, spoken by Zooble (Ashley Nichols):
      Seems fitting for you, though; I figured you'd be into this.
  9. (mathematics) Expressing the operation of division, with the denominator given first. Usually with "goes".
    How many times does 24 go into 48?
    Three goes into six two times.
  10. (British, archaic, India, mathematics) Expressing the operation of multiplication.[1]
    Five into three is fifteen.
  11. Investigating the subject (of).
    There have been calls for research into the pesticides that are blamed for the decline in bee populations.
  12. (colloquial) Attacking or fighting a person.

going inside

going to a geographic region

against, with force

producing, becoming

after the start of

colloquial: intensely interested in — see also avid,‎ enjoy

taking distinct arguments to distinct values

expressing the operation of division

investigating the subject

Translations to be checked

  1. ^ “into”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Proto-Finnic *inta +‎ -o (compare dialectal inta, Estonian ind, Livonian ind), probably borrowed from Proto-Germanic [Term?] (compare Old Swedish inna (“achievement, accomplishment”)).

Alternatively, a Uralic origin has been proposed. Compare Komi-Zyrian ӧд (öd, “speed”).

into [_with_ illative ‘for’; or with first infinitive ‘to do’]

  1. eagerness, enthusiasm
    odottaa innolla (+ partitive) ― to look forward to
  2. passion, fervour/fervor, ardour/ardor
  3. zeal, fanaticism

Learned borrowing from Classical Latin intus (“within, inside”).

into

  1. (obsolete) inside
    Synonym: dentro
    • 14th century [1260–1298], anonymous translator, Vita di S. Alessio [Life of saint Alexius]‎[4], translation of Historia dē sānctō Alexiō [_Story of saint Alexius_] by Iācōbus dē Vorāgine (in Medieval Latin); republished in Giuseppe Manuzzi, editor, Il libro de' dodici articoli de la fede, e la Vita di S. Alessio‎[5], Florence: David Passigli, 1864, page 9:
      Allora lo guardiano incontanente se n’andò a lui, e menollo into la Chiesa.
      [original: Tunc custōs festīnus exiit et ipsum in ecclēsiam intrōdūxit.]
      The warden then immediately went to him, and led him inside the church.

Contraction of inte (“in”) + o m sg (“the”, definite article).

into

  1. in the (+ a masculine name in the singular)
    • 1984, “Sinàn Capudàn Pascià”, in Fabrizio De André (lyrics), Mauro Pagani (music), Crêuza de mä [Muletrack by the sea], performed by Fabrizio De André:
      Into mêzo do mâ gh'è 'n péscio tondo / che, quando o vedde e brutte, o va 'nscio fondo
      In the middle of the sea is a round fish, that goes to the bottom when things turn ugly

into

  1. alternative form of in-to

From Latin intus.

into

  1. in (surrounded by)

in +‎ tō

intō

  1. into

întó class 9 (plural ízintó class 10)

  1. thing

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

íntó class 9 (plural ízintó class 10)

  1. thing

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

into

  1. mother

From in- +‎ -tha (“to name, to choose”) +‎ -o. Compare with a similar derivation in Swahili jambo.

întó class 9 (plural ízintó class 10)

  1. thing