beat to within an inch of life

beat somebody to within an inch of their life

to attack someone so violently that they almost die She was beaten to within an inch of her life on a back street in London.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Roque	RO-ke (Spanish)	Spanish, Portuguese
Christen (2)	KRIS-tin	English
Ackary	['ækəri]
Egan	['i:gən]
Paloma	pah-LO-mah	Spanish
Sabrina	sə-BREEN-ə (English), sah-BREE-nah (Italian), zahp-REE-nah (German)	English, Italian, German