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
Peter Pressman, Verywell Health, 9 Dec. 2025
The political theory is also accessible and thorough.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 7 Dec. 2025
Authorities did a thorough sweep and found hidden compartments that had more than 1,000 packages of cocaine, totaling about 3,715 pounds.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thorough
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Adjective
Diagnosis relies on a thorough medical history, a physical examination, and laboratory testing.
—Peter Pressman, Verywell Health, 9 Dec. 2025
The political theory is also accessible and thorough.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 7 Dec. 2025
Authorities did a thorough sweep and found hidden compartments that had more than 1,000 packages of cocaine, totaling about 3,715 pounds.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thorough
Cite this Entry
“Thorough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorough. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.
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