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
Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
But Adrienne Bechelli, the deputy director of the city's department of emergency management, said her team has been doing thorough outreach block by block.
—Sooji Nam, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
For these lighter tasks, thorough handwashing afterward is often sufficient.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026
The grain vacuum was then used for a thorough search of the bin, during which the second subject was found near the bottom.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thorough
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Adjective
That being said, investing in a single stock without thorough analysis can be perilous.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
But Adrienne Bechelli, the deputy director of the city's department of emergency management, said her team has been doing thorough outreach block by block.
—Sooji Nam, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
For these lighter tasks, thorough handwashing afterward is often sufficient.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026
The grain vacuum was then used for a thorough search of the bin, during which the second subject was found near the bottom.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 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 2 Feb. 2026.
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