Etimology
From Middle English in-to, from Old English intō, equivalent to in + to. Cognate with Scots intae.
preposition
into
To or towards the inside of.
To or towards the region of.
Against, especially with force or violence.
Indicates transition into another form or substance.
Indicates division or the creation of subgroups or sections.
After the start of.
(colloquial) Interested in or attracted to.
(mathematics) Expressing the operation of division, with the denominator given first. Usually with "goes".
(British, archaic, India, mathematics) Expressing the operation of multiplication.
Investigating the subject (of).
Examples
Mary danced into the house.
Pour the wine into the decanter.
The nomads shave intricate designs into their camels' fur.
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.
This time Cudicini was left helpless when Natcho stepped up to expertly curl the ball into the top corner.
We left the house and walked into the street.
The eagle flew off into the wide blue sky.
The car crashed into the tree.
I wasn't careful, and walked into a wall.
I carved the piece of driftwood into a sculpture of a whale.
Right before our eyes, Jake turned into a wolf!
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.
A cow's stomach is divided into four chambers.
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.
About 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot reported a fire on board.
" […] 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.
She's really into Shakespeare right now.
My date for tonight has black hair, and I'm into that.
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 […]
Three into two won't go.
24 goes into 48 how many times?
Five into three is fifteen.
There have been calls for research into the pesticides that are blamed for the decline in bee populations.
Related words
related terms
in
inside
onto
to