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
ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
Idaho’s Constitution mandates the Legislature establish and maintain a uniform and thorough system of free public schools.
—Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
All of the equipment present survived last night’s gear check, a mandatory and extremely thorough pre-competition inspection of every single piece, and is subject to another at any point throughout the weekend.
—Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Some called for a thorough investigation of the allegations, while others urged changing this month’s myriad celebrations of Cesar Chavez Day — marked nationally on March 31 — to Farmworkers Day.
—Ryan Carter, Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thorough
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Adjective
The officers involved were transferred from operational duty to administrative activities to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation by the military police internal affairs division, police said.
—ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
Idaho’s Constitution mandates the Legislature establish and maintain a uniform and thorough system of free public schools.
—Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
All of the equipment present survived last night’s gear check, a mandatory and extremely thorough pre-competition inspection of every single piece, and is subject to another at any point throughout the weekend.
—Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Some called for a thorough investigation of the allegations, while others urged changing this month’s myriad celebrations of Cesar Chavez Day — marked nationally on March 31 — to Farmworkers Day.
—Ryan Carter, Daily News, 18 Mar. 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 21 Mar. 2026.
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