"inch up" is correct and usable in written English.
It can refer to gradually pushing something up a small distance. For example: "Be sure to inch up the ladder before reaching for the high window."
Consumer spending is sluggish, partly because wages are declining and unemployment has started to inch up.
French unemployment continued to inch up and now stands at 10.6%.
Pour in enough oil to come 1/2 inch up side of pan.
So why keep working so hard to inch up the American sales of "Pope Joan"?
Analysts were expecting that the unemployment rate would just inch up to 4.6percentt.
At home, the prices of imported goods like German-made cars and French wine inch up.
Can American schools inch up the skills scale without sacrificing their place on the attitudinal scale?
Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a 9-inch springform pan.
Pour in enough boiling water to go 1 inch up the sides of the ramekins.
Swirl the caramel around the base and 1 inch up the sides of the dish.
Asked if watching sales inch up motivates him to go to work each morning, Mr FitzGerald winces: "Oh, that's cruel".
