Etymology The noun is derived from in + road (“(obsolete) act of riding on horseback; hostile ride against a particular area, raid”). The verb is derived from the noun.
[…] That ſince that time he [Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus] was become the ſubject of King Henry [VIII] of England, his Majeſty's [James V of Scotland's] greateſt enemy; and was now the cauſe of all the Inroads made by the English into Scotland: […]1537, David Scott, “Papers Illustrative of the Trial of Jonet Lady Glammys. I. Narrative Taken from the History of Scotland, by David Scott of the Inner Temple.”, in [Robert Pitcairn, compiler], Criminal Trials and Other Proceedings before the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland, part IX (Trials during the Reigns of King James the Fourth and Fifth), [Edinburgh]: Printed at the Bannatyne Club Press by Ballantyne and Co., published 1831, →OCLC, page 192:
[A] child knowing the heate of fire, will as readely iudge of the perrill, as the wiſeſt Senatour, of the inroad of a borderer, or the politick captaine, of the vnequall encoũter with his enimy, […]1586, T[imothie] Bright, “The Particular Aunswere to the Obiections Made in the II Chapter”, in A Treatise of Melancholie. […], London: […] Thomas Vautrollier, […], →OCLC, page 75:
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Whence is it that ſo many corrupt Opinions have made ſuch an Inroad on Proteſtant Religion, and the Profeſſion of it? Is it not from hence, that many have loſt an Experience of the power and efficacy of the Truth, and ſo have parted with it?1683, Samuel Annesley, “The Chamber of Imagery in the Church of Rome Laid Open; or An Antidote against Popery. […] Sermon X.”, in A Continuation of Morning-Exercise Questions and Cases of Conscience, Practically Resolved by Sundry Ministers, in October, 1682, London: […] J. A. for John Dunton […], →OCLC, page 221:
[T]he Britains, left to ſhift for themſelves, and daily haraſſed by cruel Inroads from the Picts, were forced to call in the Saxons for their Defence; […]1712 March 4 (date written; Gregorian calendar), J[onathan] Swift, A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue; […], 2nd edition, London: […] Benj[amin] Tooke, […], published 1712, →OCLC, page 9:
The brave and active Conſtantius delivered Gaul from a very furious inroad of the Alemanni; and his victories of Langres and Vindoniſſa appear to have been actions of conſiderable danger and merit.1776, Edward Gibbon, chapter XIII, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 368:
While from their lovely climate, the poets native to their sweet south, the old ruins hallowed with the memories of other days, the lovely paintings, the still diviner statues, which had been their constant companions—the character had imperceptibly caught a tone of romance, calculated long to resist the inroads of worldliness and deceit.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 181:
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Figuratively, Plural normally Often followed by in, into, or on: initial progress made toward accomplishing a goal or solving a problem.
Three weeks into it, I am finally beginning to make inroads on this project.
You must have been fairly surprised at Dr. Glaser's inroads into reprogramming the brain.1983 October 10, Eugenie Ross-Leming, Brad Buckner, “If Thoughts Could Kill”, in Scarecrow and Mrs. King, season 1, episode 3:
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Even in our post-Darwinian society, with evolutionary theory making inroads in many areas of the social and human sciences, the cynics' insight retains an ability to stimulate and to provoke.2005, Yiannis Gabriel, “Foreword”, in Ian Cutler, Cynicism from Diogenes to Dilbert, Jefferson, N.C.; London: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, pages 2–3:
These insights open up novel inroads in the area of neurorehabilitation by demonstrating that disorders such as amblyopia might be accessible to perceptual training protocols.2014, Mark W. Greenlee, “The Neuronal Base of Perceptual Learning and Skill Acquisition”, in Stephen Billett, Christian Harteis, Hans Gruber, editors, International Handbook of Research in Professional and Practice-based Learning (Springer International Handbooks of Education), Dordrecht: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, →ISSN, part II (Research Paradigms), page 330:
inroad
verb
Etymology The noun is derived from in + road (“(obsolete) act of riding on horseback; hostile ride against a particular area, raid”). The verb is derived from the noun.
[Y]ou muſt not expect him to go with you, inroading or making incurſions into Georgia; for he is an Armenian, true to his faith; and not a Georgian, falſe and diſtruſtful!1792, Joseph Emin, The Life and Adventures of Joseph Émïn, an Armenian. […], London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 358:
[T]his is the first war that has befallen in my time, and no inimy has yet inroaded far enough into the Colony, to be reached by an arm even longer than mine.1841, J[ames] Fenimore Cooper, chapter IV, in The Deerslayer: A Tale. […], 1st British edition, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 100:
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All about the dreaming sea-board, but tucked well out of sight, lurked those guardians of the environment—filters, slurpers, booms, vacuums, ultramodern aids to deal with the very latest imperishables. All ruinously expensive to mount, and inroading sizeably into profit margins, but part of the small print that nearly drove Boyle barmy.1982, Kamala Markandaya [pseudonym; Kamala Purnaiya], chapter 26, in Shalimar (A Cornelia & Michael Bessie Book), 1st U.S. edition, New York, N.Y.; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 167:
[…] Kvenland and Scythian Amazons […] poisoned Anund and his troops when they were inroading in Vinland or Kvenland.2018, Pia Piiroinen, Me Habirut Mahabharata: Part 1, Helsinki, Finland; Norderstedt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany: Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 147:
[Y]ea, the Saracens had lately waſted Italy, conquered Spain, inroded Aquitain, and poſſeſſed ſome iſlands in the mid-land-ſea.1639, Thomas Fuller, “The Character of Peter the Hermite; His Soliciting the Holy Warre; the Councel at Clermont, and the Successe thereof”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book I, page 14:
The kyngdom of Heven be Chriſt, 'teys reſembled to this noble kyng / With riches inroded mercy for to lern, and to have compaſſion. / One of another, after goddes Faſſyon.1781, “Hundred of Depwade”, in History and Antiquities of the County of Norfolk, volumes II (Containing the Hundreds of Clavering, Depwade, Diss, and Earsham), Norwich, Norfolk: […] J. Crouse, for M. Booth, […], →OCLC, footnote *, page 127:
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Andy was especial inroaded by self-esteem at our success, the rudiments of the scheme having originated in his own surmises and premonitions.1908, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Octopus Marooned”, in The Gentle Grafter, New York, N.Y.: The McClure Company, →OCLC, page 11:
Furthermore, what initially was the main domain of record labels—the financing of music productions—was also inroaded by business outsiders.2012, Peter Tschmuck, “The Digital Music Revolution”, in Creativity and Innovation in the Music Industry, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg; New York, N.Y.: Springer, →DOI, →ISBN, page 194:
[I]n June 2008, the Ras Doumeirah incident happened. Eritrean forces inroaded the Ras Doumeirah principality, a strategic place at the narrowest crossing point to the Gulf of Aden at the strait of Babeal Mendeb.2019, Everisto Benyera, “Borders and the Coloniality of Human Mobility: A View from Africa”, in Inocent Moyo, Christopher Changwe Nshimbi, editors, African Borders, Conflict, Regional and Continental Integration (Border Regions Series), Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN: