thor·ough
ˈthər-(ˌ)ō 
sometimes ˈthȯr-;
ˈthə-(ˌ)rō
1
: carried through to completion : exhaustive
a thorough search/examination/investigation
2
a
: including every possible part or detail
a thorough description
a thorough understanding of the rules and regulations
b
: careful about detail : painstaking
a thorough scholar
c
chiefly British
: complete in all respects
thorough pleasure/disgrace
a thorough mess/nuisance
d
: having full mastery (as of an art)
a thorough musician
thoroughness
noun
archaic
: through
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.
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
Armando Garcia, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Officials have promised thorough investigations of all uses of force.
—Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Among those measures was a proposal requiring any ballot measure establishing a fee to undergo a thorough analysis and calculation as to the fee amount before it is presented to voters.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Chesterton Police are conducting a thorough investigation of their case.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thorough
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Adjective
The spike in deaths has rattled the international community, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemning the situation and demanding a thorough inspection of conditions at ICE facilities.
—Armando Garcia, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Officials have promised thorough investigations of all uses of force.
—Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Among those measures was a proposal requiring any ballot measure establishing a fee to undergo a thorough analysis and calculation as to the fee amount before it is presented to voters.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Chesterton Police are conducting a thorough investigation of their case.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thorough
Cite this Entry
“Thorough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorough. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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