From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishintoin‧to /ˈɪntə; before vowels ˈɪntʊ; strong ˈɪntuː/ ●●● S1 W1 preposition 1 to the inside of somethingIN/INSIDE to the inside or inner part of a container, place, area etc Come into the office. He thrust his hand into his coat pocket. There must be another way into the cave. Sue got back into bed and pulled the quilt over her head. I’ve got to go into town this morning. We dived into the sea.2 becoming involvedTAKE PART/BE INVOLVED used to say that someone becomes involved in a situation or activity, or becomes part of a group At the age of 16, I went into the printing trade as an apprentice. They tried to drag me into their quarrel. a player who deserves to get back into the England team3 changingCHANGE/MAKE something DIFFERENT used to say that someone or something starts being in a different state or form She fell into a deep sleep. The whole banking system was thrown into confusion. I screwed my wet handkerchief into a ball. Cut the cake into pieces. Neruda’s poems have been translated into English.4 hitting somethingHIT/BUMP INTOTOUCH used to say that a person or vehicle hits someone or something after moving towards them He almost bumped into me as he rushed past. The car swerved and crashed into the wall.5 directionDIRECTION in a particular direction They rode off into the sunset. Make sure you’re speaking directly into the microphone. 6 timeTIME/AT A PARTICULAR TIME at or until a certain time Andy and I talked well into the night. John was well into his forties before he got married.7 finding out used to say what someone is trying to find out information about an investigation into the events leading up to his death I’ve been doing some research into this.8 dividing numbers spokenHM used when you are dividing one number by another Eight into twenty-four is three.9 → be into something10 → be into somebody
Examples from the Corpus
into• Pour half a pint of milk into a small pan and warm it gently.• Don't get into any trouble.• Roll the cookie dough into balls.• They decided to go into business together.• Ellen is going into fifth grade next year.• Rachel jumped into her car and sped off in the direction of the hospital.• The other car just backed into me.• Edwards is charged with trying to smuggle 20 kg of cannabis into the country.• Maggie bumped into the dessert cart and knocked it over.• Jane went into the living-room and sat down on the sofa.• Jeff went into the living room.• We talked into the night.• The child had fallen into the water.• Six goes into thirty five times.Origin into Old English 