thorough

thor·ough | \ ˈthər-(ˌ)ō

How to pronounce thorough (audio)

, sometimes ˈthȯr-; ˈthə-(ˌ)rō \

Definition of thorough

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : carried through to completion : exhaustive a thorough search

2a : marked by full detail a thorough description

b : careful about detail : painstaking a thorough scholar

c : complete in all respects thorough pleasure

d : having full mastery (as of an art) a thorough musician

thorough

Definition of thorough (Entry 2 of 3)

archaic

thorough

Definition of thorough (Entry 3 of 3)

archaic

Other Words from thorough Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about thorough

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Examples of thorough in a Sentence

Adjective … one realized that it was the restaurant's thorough and even comic Frenchness that had made it so entirely New York. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2004 Bruce tells me to squat down and Koani sidles up, ears flattened, tail tucked away, and gives my face a thorough licking. — Nicholas Evans, Daily Telegraph, 26 Sept. 1998 The job was uncharacteristically thorough for a Russian contract killing—three different types of bullets riddled Mikho's body. — New Republic, 15 Dec. 1997 a thorough understanding of the rules and regulations The investigator will have to be thorough.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective To the contrary, our thorough investigation found the individuals were involved in systematic searches for other employees’ materials and work. — Ryan Gallagher, Fortune, "Google Fires 4 Employees for Violating Data Security—But Critics Say It’s Retaliation for Protesting," 26 Nov. 2019 This isn’t a league with a reputation for thorough investigations. — Dan Labbe, cleveland, "The multiple layers of Myles Garrett’s suspension and his appeal," 22 Nov. 2019 For a thorough gameplay analysis of the decision-making that could have possibly fueled Wednesday night’s horror show, please look to Dalton Ross’ in-depth recap. — Jodi Walker, EW.com, "The Survivor controversy exemplifies how the show reflects society — for better or worse: Opinion," 14 Nov. 2019 One of the more thorough reviews of such experiments, Pope said, was published in 2006 by the American Medical Association. — Joe Sexton, ProPublica, "End-of-Life Care Laws Were Supposed to Help New Yorkers. They Don’t Always Work.," 31 Oct. 2019 The Bureau of Land Management failed to conduct a thorough environmental analysis of the project that considered the impacts of cutting trees on the climate, said scientists who appealed to a federal review board to stop it. — Jennifer Oldham, National Geographic, "Forests on Utah’s public lands may soon be torn out. Here’s why.," 3 Sep. 2019 In a series of posts on Twitter, May defended his office and said he was committed to a thorough and fair review. — Anna Staver, The Denver Post, "Polis calls for independent investigation into shooting of De’Von Bailey by Colorado Springs police," 22 Aug. 2019 Judges said authorities had failed to conduct a thorough assessment of the plant’s impact on Lamu, canceled the license issued by the National Environmental Management Authority and ordered developer Amu Power undertake a new evaluation. — Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Africa, "UNESCO wants Kenya to review plans to build its first coal plant on a world heritage site," 10 July 2019 In an interview Monday, Roe also defended the independent investigation of the shooting conducted by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, calling it thorough and fair. — Steve Miletich, The Seattle Times, "Fatal shooting by Lynnwood police officer was justified, Snohomish County prosecutor reaffirms," 16 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thorough.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

2 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Thorough.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorough?pronunciation&lang=en_us&file=thorou01. Accessed 13 December 2019.

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More Definitions for thorough

thorough

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of thorough

: including every possible part or detail

: careful about doing something in an accurate and exact way

chiefly British : complete or absolute

See the full definition for thorough in the English Language Learners Dictionary

thorough

thor·ough | \ ˈthər-ō

\

Kids Definition of thorough

1 : being such to the fullest degree : complete a thorough search

2 : careful about little things a thorough worker

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