into

Etymology

From Middle English in-to, from Old English intō, equivalent to in + to. Cognate with Scots intae.

prep

1. To or towards the inside of.
   Mary danced into the house.
   Pour the wine into the decanter.
   The nomads shave intricate designs into their camels' fur.
   This time Cudicini was left helpless when Natcho stepped up to expertly curl the ball into the top corner. November 3, 2011, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1-0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport
2. To or towards the region of.
   We left the house and walked into the street.
   The eagle flew off into the wide blue sky.
3. Against, especially with force or violence.
   The car crashed into the tree.
   I wasn't careful, and walked into a wall.
4. Indicates transition into another form or substance.
   I carved the piece of driftwood into a sculpture of a whale.
   Right before our eyes, Jake turned into a wolf!
   His English is still in its beginning stages, like my Creole, but he was able to translate some Creole songs that he's written into English—not the best English, but English nonetheless. 2002, Matt Cyr, Something to Teach Me: Journal of an American in the Mountains of Haiti, Educa Vision, Inc., page 25
5. Indicates division or the creation of subgroups or sections.
   A cow's stomach is divided into four chambers.
   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting. 2013-07-19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30
6. After the start of.
   About 20 minutes into the flight, the pilot reported a fire on board.
7. (colloquial) Interested in or attracted to.
   She's really into Shakespeare right now.
   My date for tonight has black hair, and I'm into that.
   I was into you, but I'm over it now / And I was trying to be nice / But nothing's getting through, so let me spell it out[…] 13 August 2021, Gayle, Sara Davis, David Pittenger, “abcdefu”, in A Study of the Human Experience Volume One, performed by Gayle
8. (Britain, archaic, India, mathematics) Expressing the operation of multiplication.
   Five into three is fifteen.
9. (mathematics) Expressing the operation of division, with the denominator given first. Usually with "goes".
   Three into two won't go.
   24 goes into 48 how many times?
10. Investigating the subject (of).
    There have been calls for research into the pesticides that are blamed for the decline in bee populations.