inning

Definition

A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game.

Etymology

Back-formation from innings, mistaken to be plural of the time period, not the entries of the batters/batsmen.

Example Sentences

• "It is a baseball tradition to sing "Take Me Out To the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch."
• "We batted around in our half of the inning."
• "We are in just the second inning of our quest to enter this new market."