The Phrasal Verb 'Let In' Explained
- Phrasal Verbs Explained
- Jun 13
- 9 min read
Updated: 12 minutes ago
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'let in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
In this article, I will be explaining all about the phrasal verb 'let in'. How well do you know it? Did you know that it has at least 4 different meanings and uses in English? Don't worry if you didn't because in this post I will explain each individual meaning, telling you when we use it and giving you lots of example sentences in context. So, without further ado, let's make a start....
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
LET IN: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Let in / Let in |
Separable? | Yes |
As many of you will know, all phrasal verbs are formed by combining a base verb with one or sometimes two prepositional particles. This combination becomes a new lexical unit with a distinct meaning or set of meanings to the component words, which is often confusing for English learners. As a first step in our exploration of the phrasal verb 'let in', let's therefore begin by examining the meanings of the base verb 'to let' and the particle 'in'. This will hopefully help you later in the post with some of the phrasal verb meanings that we look at.
I imagine that many of you will already be very familiar with 'to let' as it is a common irregular verb in English. It has several meanings and uses but the most common one is the one that is very relevant for the phrasal verb 'let in', which is 'to allow something to happen'.
My boss let me work from home yesterday.
I don't let my cats in the bedroom.
Just let it happen naturally.
Do you let your children have a smartphone?
I would do the work if my manager let me.
The prepositional particle 'in' is one that we see very frequently in phrasal verb constructions and can often be used to add the idea of entry or movement towards the inside of something. Moreover, 'in' is used in phrasal verbs to add different ideas like involvement (join in), becoming popular (come in) and absorption (take in).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's now move onto the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'let in'....
MEANING 1: To allow entry
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To allow entry, to grant access, to admit, to welcome, to take in |
Separable? | Yes |
We'll begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'let in' with the literal meaning of the two words combined, which is also the most commonly used: 'to allow someone or something to enter somewhere'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Let's first think about letting people in. When I was a child, I clearly remember watching a horror movie (that I was forbidden to watch) and being terrified by a ghostly man begging the owners of a house to "let him in", or in other words, 'to allow him entry into their house'. Thankfully, the homeowners did not let him in and I'm sharing this with you because when we use 'let someone in' in this way, it is often with people and buildings or rooms, with the action of letting someone typically involving opening a door to allow entry.
Of course, the action of 'letting someone in' does not always involve door opening and can also be applied to public places and spaces like nightclubs, museums and theme parks in which people are authorised to enter by designated employees. We can also use it with websites and online accounts, for example if you enter the wrong password on a website, it will not let you in.
We can also use it with animals. For example, I always let my cats in from the garden for dinner every evening after I have finished teaching.
On a grammatical note, this usage is separable and it is possible to place a noun or pronoun between 'let' and 'in'.
Emma opened the door to let the delivery man in.
Can you let me in? I've forgotten my keys!
They wouldn’t let us in to the concert without tickets.
The guard let the students in after checking their IDs.
Don't let the cat in; he has muddy paws!
Arthur let his friend in through the back door.
Pippa knocked loudly on the front door until someone let her in.
You may have noticed in the list at the top of this application that we can also 'let in' other things besides living beings. Typically, these would be things like air, water and light that can pass into internal spaces through holes, gaps windows or even doors. For example, if you cut down a tree in your garden, it may let in more light into your house. Moreover, if you leave a window open on a cold day, it will let the cold in, which nobody wants.
Opening the window will let in some fresh air.
The curtains were drawn back to let in the morning sunlight.
Don’t open the door; you’ll let in the cold.
The cracks in the wall let a lot of noise in from outside.
This skylight lets in plenty of natural light.
The boat is letting in water due to a hole in the hull.
She let the smell of flowers in by opening the patio door.
MEANING 2: To share secret information with someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To share, to open up |
Separable? | Yes |
Next up, we have our second meaning of 'let in', which is another one that takes the idea of permission from the verb 'to let' and means 'to share secret information with someone'.
For this application, it is possible to use the additional preposition 'on' but this is not always necessary and there is in fact a very small difference in meaning when 'on' is used.
I'll start with 'let in' is used without the word 'on'. This is typically in situations when a person who is usually shy or emotionally closed shares their personal thoughts and feelings with someone else, often making them feel vulnerable. The idea here is that they allow the other person in to their mind and thoughts, so that the other person knows what is going on with them when normally this is personal or secret information.
It took me a long time to trust him enough to let Mark in.
Louise never lets anyone in; she's afraid of getting hurt.
You have to let people in if you want real connection.
Ben tried to let her in, but he didn’t know how to express his feelings.
As I mentioned, the other way to use this application of 'let in' is by adding the additional preposition 'on', giving us the construction 'to let someone in on something'.
If you let someone in on something, you give them secret information that was previously unknown to them. The usual scenario for this is when some information is known by a small group of people and when someone lets another person in on it, they allow them to become part of this exclusive (and knowledgeable) group.
I would say that this application is one that you are likely to hear in social groups and in casual everyday English conversations but its usually too informal to be used in business English or in the workplace. Specific scenarios in which you may hear it being said would be when organising something secret like a surprise birthday party, gossiping about something scandalous that has happened to a mutual friend or acquaintance and playing practical jokes which involve an element of secrecy.
If you want to use this one, don't forget to only do it when sharing information that is secret or only known by a few people, typically in a social group.
My parents finally let me in on the surprise party they’re planning for my sister.
Can I trust you? I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
Sue let him in on the details of the new project before it was announced.
We let Victoria in on the joke after she looked confused for a while.
Don’t let anyone in on this until we have a solid plan.
The travel agents let us in on the deal early, so we got the best price.
MEANING 3: To embed something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To embed, to insert, to inset |
Separable? | Yes |
Our third meaning of 'let in' is a rarer British meaning of the phrasal verb, which means 'to embed' or 'to insert something'.
This particular application is a specialised one that is used mainly in the trades of construction, carpentry, engineering and other forms of manual labour. As such, this is one that I am not very familiar with as I am terrible at things like that.
To clarify, if you let something in, you insert or embed it onto a surface, normally so that it sits level with the rest of the surface.
The carpenter let in a metal plate to reinforce the joint.
The electrician let in the wiring behind the wall to keep it hidden.
He let in a brass strip along the edge of the table for decoration.
A small glass panel was let into the wooden door to allow light through.
MEANING 4: To become involved in something difficult
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To get involved in |
Separable? | Always |
We've made it to our fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'let in', which means 'to become involved with something difficult or unpleasant'.
Although this is one of the more common meanings of 'let in', I've left it to last as it is more of a fixed expression that we use with the additional particle 'for' and the reflexive 'self' pronoun, typically taking the following construction....
'to let oneself in for something'
We use this particular expression when we decide to get involved in something or take a course of action but do not realise how difficult, challenging or unpleasant it will be. In other words, you take a course of action without realising the negative effects or consequences.
As such, we can often use this particular application when there is an element of regret or surprise to something. Furthermore, you may hear people using it to talk about someone else who has chosen to do something that they may regret or find tough.
I didn’t realise how much work the project would be; I’ve really let myself in for a challenging few months.
Monica let herself in for a lot of stress by agreeing to organise the entire wedding.
Jan didn’t know what he was letting himself in for when he volunteered to coach the team.
I thought babysitting would be easy, but it turns out that I had let myself in for a weekend of chaos and stress.
Jo and Pete had no idea what they were letting themselves in for when they adopted three puppies.
You’ve let yourself in for a difficult semester by choosing all advanced courses.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'let in'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'let in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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THE END
I didn't want to let him in after all he said.
I want to let in insulation in my house. I let myself in for heartbreak when I let her in.