← Back to Fala2Me

inch ahead

[/ɪntʃ əˈhɛd/]
verb (phrasal verb)
avançar lentamente
1. to move forward slowly and gradually, making small incremental progress
The traffic inched ahead during rush hour.
O trânsito avançava lentamente durante a hora do rush.
2. to progress or improve in small steps or degrees
The project is inching ahead despite budget constraints.
O projeto está avançando aos poucos apesar das restrições orçamentárias.
Synonyms
creep forwardmove slowlyprogress graduallyadvance incrementallyedge forward
Antonyms
leap forwardrush aheadsprintracesurge

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
avançar lentamente
most common usage
Rio de Janeiro
ir avançando devagar
conversational variant
São Paulo
avançar aos poucos
common in business/formal contexts
Portugal
avançar centímetro a centímetro
literal translation sometimes preferred

Related Idioms & Phrases

inch by inch
move at a snail's pace
make headway
take baby steps
get ahead
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →