inside

1 /In'saId/ preposition

1 CONTAINER in a container or other closed space so that it is completely covered or surrounded: I'll leave the keys inside an envelope. | The jewels were locked away inside the safe.

2 BUILDING/ROOM in a room or building, especially when you are looking at it from the outside: Mail was piled up just inside the doorway.

3 COUNTRY a word meaning in a country or area, used when you want to emphasize that something is happening there and not outside it: Very little is known of events inside Albania. | The guerrillas were said to be operating from bases inside the war zone.

4 ORGANIZATION a word meaning in an organization or company, used when you want to emphasize that something is happening or known about there, but not outside it: women's influence inside the Party | There have been rumours of bitter disputes inside the company.

5 FEELING if you have a feeling inside you, you feel it but do not express it or tell other people about it: It's no good bottling all the anger up inside you - you've got to let it out.

6 HEAD/MIND if something happens inside you, or inside your head or mind, it is part of what you think and feel: Something inside of me told me not to trust him. | Steve's a strange guy - you never know what's going on inside his head.

7 BODY in your body: She could feel the baby kicking inside her. | You'll feel better once you've got a good meal inside you (=after you have eaten something)

8 TIME especially spoken if you do something inside a particular amount of time, it takes you slightly less than that amount of time to do it: Jonson's time of 9.3 seconds was just inside the world record. | inside (of) two hours/inside (of) fifteen minutes etc: We did the return trip to Birmingham in just inside three hours.

2 /In'saId/ adverb

1 in something: The car was locked and the keys were inside. | The purse had -50 inside.

2 in a house or other building: It's raining. We'll have to go inside. | She could hear voices inside, but no-one came to the door.

3 if you have a feeling inside, you have the feeling but do not show it to other people: You just don't understand how I feel inside!

4 informal in prison: My boyfriend's been inside for a year.

5 inside of

a) within a particular period of time: We should get it finished inside of a month.

b) AmE on the inside of something: There were now about a thousand people inside of the stadium.

3 noun

1 the inside

a) the inner part of something, which is surrounded or hidden by the outer part: The apple's rotten on the inside. | The door had been locked from the inside.

—opposite outside 1 (1)

b) the part of a road that is nearest to the edge on the side where you are driving: He tried to overtake me on the inside.

2 inside out with the usual outside parts on the inside: You've got that jumper inside out. | Turn cushion covers inside out to wash them.

3 on the inside someone who is on the inside is a member of a group or an organization: Someone on the inside must have helped with the robbery.

4 sb's inside/insides informal someone's stomach: My insides are beginning to complain about the lack of food.

5 turn sth inside out to search a place very thoroughly by moving everything that is in it: The drug squad turned the apartment inside out.

6 know sth inside out to know something in great detail: She knows her subject inside out.

4 adjective

1 on or facing the inside of something: the inside pages of the newspaper

2 inside information/the inside story etc information that is available only to people who are part of a particular group or organization: Police believe the robbers may have had inside information.