What does "in" mean?

Additional senses

1. 2.With reference to circumstances or conditions; as, he is in difficulties; she stood in a blaze of light. "Fettered in amorous chains." Shak. Wrapt in sweet sounds, as in bright veils. Shelley.
2. 3.With reference to a whole which includes or comprises the part spoken of; as, the first in his family; the first regiment in the army. Nine in ten of those who enter the ministry. Swift.
3. 4.With reference to physical surrounding, personal states, etc., abstractly denoted; as, I am in doubt; the room is in darkness; to live in fear. When shall we three meet again, In thunder, lightning, or in rain Shak.
4. 5.With reference to character, reach, scope, or influence considered as establishing a limitation; as, to be in one's favor. "In sight of God's high throne." Milton. Sounds inharmonious in themselves, and harsh. Cowper.
5. 6.With reference to movement or tendency toward a certain limit or environment; -- sometimes equivalent to into; as, to put seed in the ground; to fall in love; to end in death; to put our trust in God. He would not plunge his brother in despair. Addison. She had no jewels to deposit in their caskets. Fielding.
6. 7.With reference to a limit of time; as, in an hour; it happened in the last century; in all my life. In as much as, or Inasmuch as, in the degree that; in like manner as; in consideration that; because that; since. See Synonym of Because, and cf. For as much as, under For, prep. -- In that, because; for the reason that. "Some things they do in that they are men . . . ; some things in that they are men misled and blinded with error." Hooker. -- In the name of, in behalf of; on the part of; by authority; as, it was done in the name of the people; -- often used in invocation, swearing, praying, and the like. -- To be in for it. (a) To be in favor of a thing; to be committed to a course. (b) To be unable to escape from a danger, penalty, etc. [Colloq.] -- To be (or keep) in with. (a) To be close or near; as, to keep a ship in with the land. (b) To be on terms of friendship, familiarity, or intimacy with; to secure and retain the favor of. [Colloq.] See At.
7. 8.Not out; within; inside. In, the preposition, becomes an adverb by omission of its object, leaving it as the representative of an adverbial phrase, the context indicating what the omitted object is; as, he takes in the situation (i. e., he comprehends it in his mind); the Republicans were in (i. e., in office); in at one ear and out at the other (i. e., in or into the head); his side was in (i. e., in the turn at the bat); he came in (i. e., into the house). Their vacation . . . falls in so pat with ours. Lamb. Note: The sails of a vessel are said, in nautical language, to be in when they are furled, or when stowed. In certain cases in has an adjectival sense; as, the in train (i. e., the incoming train); compare up grade, down grade, undertow, afterthought, etc.
8. 9.(Law) With privilege or possession; -- used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin; as, in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband. Burrill. In and in breeding. See under Breeding. -- In and out (Naut.), through and through; -- said of a through bolt in a ship's side. Knight. -- To be in, to be at home; as, Mrs. A. is in. -- To come in. See under Come.
9. 10.One who is in office; -- the opposite of Ant: out.
10. 11.A reëntrant angle; a nook or corner. Ins and outs, nooks and corners; twists and turns. All the ins and outs of this neighborhood. D. Jerrold.
11. 12.To inclose; to take in; to harvest. [Obs.] He that ears my land spares my team and gives me leave to in the crop. Shak.