Definition of 'through'

Word Frequency

through

pronunciation note: The preposition is pronounced (θruː ). In other cases, through is pronounced (θruː )In addition to the uses shown below, through is used in phrasal verbs such as 'see through', 'think through', and 'win through'.

1. preposition

To move through something such as a hole, opening, or pipe means to move directly from one side or end of it to the other.

The theatre was evacuated when rain poured through the roof at the Liverpool Playhouse.

Go straight through that door under the EXIT sign.

Visitors enter through a side entrance.

The main path continues through a tunnel of trees.

Synonyms: via, by way of, by, between More Synonyms of through

Through is also an adverb.

He went straight through to the kitchen and took a can of cola from the fridge.

She opened the door and stood back to allow the man to pass through.

2. preposition

To cut through something means to cut it in two pieces or to make a hole in it.

A fish knife is designed to cut through the flesh but not the bones.

Some rabbits have even taken to gnawing through the metal.

Through is also an adverb.

Score deeper each time until the board is cut through.

3. preposition

To go through a town, area, or country means to travel across it or in it.

Go up to Ramsgate, cross into France, go through Andorra and into Spain.

...travelling through pathless woods.

The couple set off in August from Morocco, drove through the Sahara, visited Nigeria and were heading for Zimbabwe.

...a memorable road trip through the California vineyards.

Through is also an adverb.

Few know that the tribe was just passing through.

4. preposition

If you move through a group of things or a mass of something, it is on either side of you or all around you.

We made our way through the crowd to the river.

Sybil's fingers ran through the water.

Nancy kept running, plunging through the sand.

He hurried through the rain, to the patrol car.

Through is also an adverb.

He pushed his way through to the edge of the crowd where he waited.

5. preposition

To get through a barrier or obstacle means to get from one side of it to the other.

Allow twenty-five minutes to get through Passport Control and Customs.

He was one of the last of the crowd to pass through the barrier.

Traders generally travel safely through the border.

Through is also an adverb.

...a maze of barriers, designed to prevent vehicles driving straight through.

6. preposition

If a driver goes through a red light, they keep driving even though they should stop.

He was killed at a road junction by a van driver who went through a red light.

We drove through red traffic lights, the horn blaring.

7. preposition

If something goes into an object and comes out of the other side, you can say that it passes through the object.

The ends of the net pass through a wooden bar at each end.

Zita was herself unconventional, keeping a safety-pin stuck through her ear lobe.

Through is also an adverb.

I bored a hole so that the fixing bolt would pass through.

8. preposition

To go through a system means to move around it or to pass from one end of it to the other.

...electric currents travelling through copper wires.

What a lot of cards you've got through the post!

...a child's successful passage through the education system.

Through is also an adverb.

...a resolution which would allow food aid to go through with fewer restrictions.

9. preposition

If you see, hear, or feel something through a particular thing, that thing is between you and the thing you can see, hear, or feel.

Alice gazed pensively through the wet glass.

They could hear music pulsing through the walls of the house.

I am sure I can feel a vibration through the soles of my feet.

10. preposition

If something such as a feeling, attitude, or quality, happens through an area, organization, or a person's body, it happens everywhere in it or affects all of it.

An atmosphere of anticipation vibrated through the crowd.

The melody that ran through his brain was composed of bad notes.

What was going through his mind when he spoke those amazing words?

A mood of optimism swept through the company and its customers.

11. preposition

If something happens or exists through a period of time, it happens or exists from the beginning until the end.

We're playing in New Zealand, Australia and Japan through November.

Saga features trips for older people at home and abroad all through the year.

She kept quiet all through breakfast.

Synonyms: during, throughout, in the middle of, for the duration of More Synonyms of through

Through is also an adverb.

We've got a tough programme, hard work right through to the summer.

He worked right through.

12. preposition

If something happens from a particular period of time through another, it starts at the first period and continues until the end of the second period.

[US]

...open Monday through Sunday from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.

During her busy season (March through June), she often completes as many as fifty paintings a week.

regional note: in BRIT, use to

Synonyms: to, up to and including More Synonyms of through

13. preposition

If you go through a particular experience or event, you experience it, and if you behave in a particular way through it, you behave in that way while it is happening.

Men go through a change of life emotionally just like women.

...a humorous woman who had lived through two world wars in Paris.

Why was I putting myself through all this misery?

Through it all, Mark was outwardly calm.

14. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]

If you are through with something or if it is through, you have finished doing it and will never do it again. If you are through with someone, you do not want to have anything to do with them again.

I'm through with the explaining. [+ with]

Training as a counsellor would guarantee her employment once her schooling was through.

They were through. They wanted out. Forever.

I'm through with women.

Synonyms: finished with, done with, having had enough of More Synonyms of through

15. preposition

You use through in expressions such as half-way through and all the way through to indicate to what extent an action or task is completed.

A competitor collapsed half-way through the marathon.

Through is also an adverb.

Stir the meat about until it turns white all the way through.

16. preposition

If something happens because of something else, you can say that it happens through it.

They are understood to have retired through age or ill health.

The thought of someone suffering through a mistake of mine makes me shiver.

Synonyms: because of, by way of, by means of, by virtue of More Synonyms of through

17. preposition

You use through when stating the means by which a particular thing is achieved.

Those who seek to grab power through violence deserve punishment.

You simply can't get a ticket through official channels.

18. preposition

If you do something through someone else, they take the necessary action for you.

Do I need to go through my doctor or can I make an appointment direct?

Speaking through an interpreter, he called for some new thinking from the West.

19. adverb [ADVERB after verb]

If something such as a proposal or idea goes through, it is accepted by people in authority and is made legal or official.

It is possible that the present Governor General will be made interim President, if the proposals go through.

The secretary of state during the Nixon-Ford transition did not wish to push the proposals through.

Through is also a preposition.

They want to get the plan through Congress as quickly as possible.

20. preposition

If someone gets through an examination or a round of a competition, they succeed or win.

She was bright, learned languages quickly, and sailed through her exams.

All the seeded players got through the first round.

Through is also an adverb.

Nigeria also go through from that group.

21. adverb [ADVERB after verb]

When you get through while making a phone call, the call is connected and you can speak to the person you are phoning.

He may find the line cut on the phone so that he can't get through.

Smith tried to get through to Frank at Warm Springs the next morning.

22. preposition

If you look or go through a lot of things, you look at them or deal with them one after the other.

Let's go through the numbers together and see if a workable deal is possible.

When you have finished your list of personal preferences, go through it again.

David ran through the agreement with Guy, point by point.

He, too, had a lot of paperwork to get through.

23. preposition

If you read through something, you read it from beginning to end.

She read through pages and pages of the music I had brought her.

I only had time to skim through the script before I flew over here.

Through is also an adverb.

He read the article straight through.

24. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]

A through train goes directly to a particular place, so that the people who want to go there do not have to change trains.

...Britain's longest through train journey, 685 miles.

25. adverb [adj ADV]

If you say that someone or something is wet through, you are emphasizing how wet they are.

[emphasis]

I returned to the inn cold and wet, soaked through by the drizzling rain.

She went on crying, and cried and cried until the pillow was wet through.

26.

See through and through

More Synonyms of through

Video: pronunciation of
through

through in British English

(θruː )

preposition

going in or starting at one side and coming out or stopping at the other side of

a path through the wood

occupying or visiting several points scattered around in (an area)

as a result of; by means of

the thieves were captured through his vigilance

4. mainly US

up to and including

Monday through Friday

during

through the night

at the end of; having (esp successfully) completed

7. through with

adjective

8. (postpositive)

having successfully completed some specified activity

(on a telephone line) connected

10. (postpositive)

no longer able to function successfully in some specified capacity

as a journalist, you're through

11. (prenominal)

(of a route, journey, etc) continuous or unbroken

a through train

adverb

12.

through some specified thing, place, or period of time

13.

thoroughly; completely

Also: (informal or poetic) thro' or (informal or poetic) thro or (chiefly US) thru

Word origin

Old English thurh; related to Old Frisian thruch, Old Saxon thuru, Old High German duruh

Word Frequency

through in American English

(θru )

preposition

in one side and out the other side of; from end to end of

in the midst of

flying through the clouds

among

hiking through the trees

by way of

a train that goes through Boston

over the entire extent or surface of

to various places in; around

touring through France

from the beginning to the end or conclusion of

to go through an experience, through the summer, went through all his provisions

b. US

up to and including

through Friday

without making a stop for

to go through a red light

past the limitations or difficulties of

to fight through all the red tape

by means of

through her help

10.

as a result of; because of

done through error

adverb

11.

in one side and out the other; from end to end

12.

from the beginning to the end

13.

completely to the end; to a conclusion

to see something through

14.

in every part or way; thoroughly; completely

soaked through

: also through and through

adjective

15.

extending from one place to another; allowing free passage

a through street

16. US

traveling to the destination without stops

a through train

continuing on without making a stop

through traffic

17. US

not necessitating changes; good for traveling without intermediate transfer

a through ticket

18.

arrived at the end; finished

through with an assignment

19.

at the end of one's usefulness, resources, etc.

through in politics

20.

having no further dealings, connections, etc. (with someone or something)

▶ USAGE: Through is also used in idiomatic expressions (e.g., get through), many of which are entered in this dictionary under the key words

Word origin

ME thurgh, thrugh < OE thurh, akin to Ger durch < IE base *ter-, through, beyond > L trans, across, Sans tiráḥ, through

Example sentences including
through

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

We did not want to go through the upheaval of this again.That helped me get through my nursing degree. Bags of incoming mail were received and sorted on the trolleys as they moved through the city.It is a slightly odd game in that both sides are already through.They could also gain respect through public service.You had to fight your way through to the back.Make sure you hop on the miniature steam train which passes through park.We will ask our people to think again about that through a general election or a new referendum.I had been caught going through a traffic light on the change.The reality of moving through gunfire yet again.