1. Right up next to someone or something; very close to something physically. I swear, the car was within an inch of us as it swerved by—I even thought could feel the side mirror brush against my sleeve! If you come within an inch of us again, I'll get a restraining order from the police!

2. Extremely close to doing, achieving, or obtaining something, typically having failed by a very narrow margin. I came within an inch of winning that race, but I guess I'll have to settle for second place. They were within an inch of defeat when the quarterback threw a hail mary for a last-second touchdown. Crude oil prices came within an inch of $80 a barrel on Friday, threatening to plunge markets further into recession around the globe.