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Glite Dictionary
to walk in

to walk in

396 1.6
To enter a room or building by walking without knocking
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɔk ɪn/
: entrar
  • And so as you walk in, we have the dining room.
  • walk in the door
  • simply walk in
  • walk in and ask

And as soon as I walk in, he's holding court.

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Examples

  • Fifteen minutes after the meeting began, two more people walked in the room and sat down.

    Academic text (2012)

  • At this moment, he is probably walking in solitary strides through a dark street.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Come take my hand and walk in with me.

    Theo Von

  • What if before you walk in, you set an agreement?

    Dr. Josh Axe

  • OK, so you walk in and this is the apartment.

  • So we just walked in.

    The Bling Ring (2013)

  • I'm sorry, the door was open, so I just walked in.

    The Skeleton Key (2005)

  • But before Vegas turned around, Anna walked in the door of the office.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Harry looked up from his coffee and saw Ada walk in through the screen door.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • You can't just walk in my house without knocking first.

Synonyms

to come in
vsto walk in
∞ 1.0

To enter a room or building

is done specifically on foot and often casually or without notice
to go in
vsto walk in
∞ 1.0

To move from outside into a place or room

is a casual on-foot arrival often without announcement
to enter
vsto walk in
∞ 1.0

To go into a building, room, or area

is more casual and often unannounced than the neutral formal action
to go into
vsto walk in
∞ 1.0

To move into a place, area, or state

is mainly physical, focusing on casual footsteps rather than changing states
to get into
vsto walk in
319 2.0

Move into or enter a place

is more specifically a casual on-foot arrival rather than involving vehicles or effort
to set foot
vsto walk in
99 3.2

To go into a place, often for the first time

is used for casual arrival without focus on first-time presence
to pop in
vsto walk in
  • Informal
25 3.4

To make a short informal visit to a place

is often longer and not only a quick informal visit
to pop into
vsto walk in
  • Informal
9 4.1

Visit a place for a short time, often without planning

is often casual but not always sudden or spontaneous
to walk straight into
vsto walk in
2 3.7

To enter a place directly and confidently without hesitation

is more casual and usually unannounced rather than confident and direct

Antonyms

to walk out
  • Informal
112 3.4

Leave a place suddenly because you are angry or protesting

How Unexpected

to storm
102 5.7
to barge in
  • Informal
59 5.5
to walk in
396 1.6
to enter
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

walk in infinitive
walked in past
walked in past participle
walking in present participle
walks in third person singular

Morphology

walk + in

The meaning 'to enter a place by walking' is directly and transparently composed from 'walk' (move on foot) + 'in' (into interior), so the overall sense is predictable from the parts. This verb + directional particle pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically attested, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning (including the casual/unannounced nuance).

Etymology

Walk in comes from the simple image of someone using their feet to walk and step in through a door without knocking. Because the action is casual and not announced, walk in today means 'to enter a place by walking, often without warning'.