Main Entry: ¹through

Pronunciation: \ˈthrü\

Function: preposition

Etymology: 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

Date: before 12th century

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: 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: 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>