through

1 of 3

preposition

ˈthrü 

1

a(1)

—used as a function word to indicate movement into at one side or point and out at another and especially the opposite side of

drove a nail through the board

(2)

: by way of

left through the door

(3)

—used as a function word to indicate passage from one end or boundary to another

a highway through the forest

a road through the desert

(4)

: without stopping for : past

drove through a red light

b

—used as a function word to indicate passage into and out of a treatment, handling, or process

the matter has already passed through her hands

2

—used as a function word to indicate means, agency, or intermediacy: such as

a

: by means of : by the agency of

b

: because of

failed through ignorance

c

: by common descent from or relationship with

related through their grandfather

3

a

: over the whole surface or extent of : throughout

homes scattered through the valley

b

—used as a function word to indicate movement within a large expanse

flew through the air

c

—used as a function word to indicate exposure to a specified set of conditions

put him through hell

4

—used as a function word to indicate a period of time: such as

a

: during the entire period of

all through her life

b

: from the beginning to the end of

the tower stood through the earthquake

c

: to and including

Monday through Friday

5

a

—used as a function word to indicate completion or exhaustion

got through the book

went through the money in a year

b

—used as a function word to indicate acceptance or approval especially by an official body

got the bill through the legislature

through

2 of 3

adverb

1

: from one end or side to the other

2

a

: from beginning to end

b

: to completion, conclusion, or accomplishment

see it through

3

: to the core : completely

soaked through

4

: into the open : out

break through

through

3 of 3

adjective

1

a

: arrived at completion or accomplishment

is through with the job

b

: washed-up, finished

2

a

: admitting free or continuous passage : direct

a through road

b

: extending from one surface to another

a through mortise

3

a

: initiated at and destined for points outside a local zone

through traffic

b(1)

: going from point of origin to destination without change or reshipment

a through train

(2)

: of or relating to such movement

a through ticket

Synonyms

Preposition

• amid
• amidst
• among
• amongst
• mid
• midst

Adverb

• around
• over
• round
• throughout

Adjective

• complete
• completed
• concluded
• done
• down
• ended
• finished
• over
• over with
• terminated
• up

Examples of through in a Sentence

Preposition

He hit the nail through the wood.

She looked through the binoculars.

The bullet had gone through his hand.

He just walked through the door.

The security guards pushed their way through the crowd.

She could see a figure through the fog.

I looked through the window.

Adverb

Let these people go through, please.

The nail went completely through.

It snowed heavily, but we made it through.

We'll never get through—the mud is too deep.

The package was shipped through to New Orleans.

Read the essay through and tell me what you think.

Adjective

When the police were through with him, a taxi took him, his suitcase, the homburg funeral hat, in the other direction … —Annie Proulx, Atlantic, November 1997

I tell him I like fanzines. This one's mad, he says, really mad. I can borrow it when he's through. —Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991

Today though, once experience shows on a woman's face, she's through. —Patricia Volk, New Woman, November 1990

I'm not through yet. I have one more topic to discuss.

If you're through using the phone, I'd like to use it next.

Is this a through road?

The left lane is for through traffic only.

Recent Examples on the Web

Preposition

In total, $88 million is available through the HIRED grant program's two tracks, which are separately administered through the Arkansas Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. —Randal Seyler, arkansasonline.com, 19 Dec. 2024

Brands will need to find ways to reduce production costs without compromising on quality, whether through scaling operations, sourcing cost-effective ingredients or leveraging government subsidies. —Shalom Daniel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Adverb

That hope was dashed by December, however, when the sale failed to go through. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024

On the other hand, another plot element planted midway through cleverly pays off in a surprising, Bible-referencing manner. —Joe Leydon, Variety, 20 Dec. 2024

Adjective

Alan Pulido made it 2-0 in the 57th minute, cutting in from the right wing for a through pass by Radoja just beyond the Quakes defense. —Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 15 July 2024

But that’s the universal struggle and the only way is through. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Preposition, Adverb, and Adjective

Middle English thurh, thruh, through, from Old English thurh; akin to Old High German durh through, Latin trans across, beyond, Sanskrit tarati he crosses over

First Known Use

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing through

• break through
• burn through
• carry through
• check through
• churn through
• click through
• come through
• come up from/through the ranks
• cooked through
• cut through
• cut through red tape
• drag someone's name through the mud
• drag through the mire/mud
• drive-through
• fall through
• fall through/between the cracks
• floor-through
• flow-through entity
• follow through
• follow through on/with
• get it into/through one's thick skull
• get it through one's thick head
• get it through someone's head
• get (something) through to (someone)
• get through
• get through to (someone)
• gone/been through the wringer
• go over/through (something) with a fine-tooth comb
• go/run through someone's mind
• go through
• go through a rough time
• go through one's paces
• go through the ceiling
• go through the motions
• go through the roof
• go through with
• halfway through
• jump through hoops
• leaf through
• lie through one's teeth
• like a (hot) knife through butter
• live through
• look through
• muddle through
• over/through the ether
• page through
• pass-through
• pass-through entity
• pay through the nose
• pull through
• put (someone or something) through his/her/its paces
• put through
• put through the wringer
• rattle through
• read through
• riffle through
• rifle through
• rise through the ranks
• run through
• sail through
• scrape through
• see through
• shine through
• sit through
• sleep through
• slip/fall through the net
• slip through/between the cracks
• slip through one's fingers
• soaked through
• sort through
• take (someone) through
• talk through
• talk through one's hat
• think through
• through and through
• through an interpreter
• through-composed
• through line
• through street
• through the agency of
• through the back door
• through the floor
• through the mill
• through the roof
• through the wringer
• through thick and thin
• thumb through
• voted through
• walk through
• wave (someone or something) through
• wear through
• wet through
• whip through
• win through
• work through

Kids Definition

through

1 of 3 preposition

(ˈ)thrü 

1

a

: in at one side and out at the opposite side of

drove through the town

b

: by way of

left through the window

c

: in the midst of : among

a path through the trees

d

: without stopping for

drove through a red light

2

a

: by means of

succeeded through hard work

b

: because of

failed through lack of planning

3

: over the whole of

all through the country

4

a

: from the beginning to the end of : during

worked through the summer

b

: to and including

Monday through Friday

5

a

: to a point of completion or exhaustion in

got through the book

b

: to a state of official acceptance or approval

got the bill through the legislature

through

2 of 3 adverb

ˈthrü

1

a

: from one end or side to the other

let these people go through, please

b

: over the whole distance

shipped through to Des Moines

2

a

: from beginning to end

read the book through at one sitting

b

: to completion, conclusion, or accomplishment

see the job through

3

: in or to every part : completely

wet through

4

: into the open : out

break through

through

3 of 3 adjective

ˈthrü

1

: allowing free or continuous passage

a through road

2

: going from point of origin to destination without changes or transfers

a through train

3

: coming from and going to points outside a local area

a lane for through traffic only

4

: having reached the end

is through with the job

Etymology

Preposition

Old English thurh "through" — related to thorough, thrill see Word History at thrill