through

preposition

\ ˈthrü

Definition of through

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a(1) —used as a function word to indicate movement into at one side or point and out at another and especially the opposite side of drove a nail through the board

(2) : by way of left through the door

(3) —used as a function word to indicate passage from one end or boundary to another a highway through the foresta road through the desert

(4) : without stopping for : past drove through a red light

b —used as a function word to indicate passage into and out of a treatment, handling, or process the matter has already passed through her hands

2 —used as a function word to indicate means, agency, or intermediacy: such as

a : by means of : by the agency of

b : because of failed through ignorance

c : by common descent from or relationship with related through their grandfather

3a : over the whole surface or extent of : throughout homes scattered through the valley

b —used as a function word to indicate movement within a large expanse flew through the air

c —used as a function word to indicate exposure to a specified set of conditions put him through hell

4 —used as a function word to indicate a period of time: such as

a : during the entire period of all through her life

b : from the beginning to the end of the tower stood through the earthquake

c : to and including Monday through Friday

5a —used as a function word to indicate completion or exhaustion got through the bookwent through the money in a year

b —used as a function word to indicate acceptance or approval especially by an official body got the bill through the legislature

through

adverb

\ ˈthrü

Definition of through (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : from one end or side to the other

2a : from beginning to end

b : to completion, conclusion, or accomplishment see it through

3 : to the core : completely soaked through

4 : into the open : out break through

through

adjective

\ ˈthrü

Definition of through (Entry 3 of 3)

1a : arrived at completion or accomplishment is through with the job

b : washed-up, finished

2a : admitting free or continuous passage : direct a through road

b : extending from one surface to another a through mortise

3a : initiated at and destined for points outside a local zone through traffic

b(1) : going from point of origin to destination without change or reshipment a through train

(2) : of or relating to such movement a through ticket

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about through

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Synonyms & Antonyms for through

Synonyms: Preposition

amid (or amidst), among (also amongst), mid, midst

Synonyms: Adverb

around, over, round, throughout

Synonyms: Adjective

complete, completed, concluded, done, down, ended, finished, over, over with, terminated, up

Antonyms: Adjective

continuing, incomplete, ongoing, uncompleted, undone, unfinished

Examples of through in a Sentence

Preposition

He hit the nail through the wood. She looked through the binoculars. The bullet had gone through his hand. He just walked through the door. The security guards pushed their way through the crowd. She could see a figure through the fog. I looked through the window.

Adverb

Let these people go through, please. The nail went completely through. It snowed heavily, but we made it through. We'll never get through—the mud is too deep. The package was shipped through to New Orleans. Read the essay through and tell me what you think.

Adjective

When the police were through with him, a taxi took him, his suitcase, the homburg funeral hat, in the other direction … — Annie Proulx, Atlantic, November 1997 I tell him I like fanzines. This one's mad, he says, really mad. I can borrow it when he's through. — Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991 Today though, once experience shows on a woman's face, she's through. — Patricia Volk, New Woman, November 1990 I'm not through yet. I have one more topic to discuss. If you're through using the phone, I'd like to use it next. Is this a through road? The left lane is for through traffic only.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

In one particularly egregious example about midway through, Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio actually climbs atop a bar and launches into an extended explanation of the film’s plot. — Mike Scott, nola.com, "‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ movie review: Fun, but far from perfect," 27 June 2019 Trump, your septuagenarian relatives, and everyone else feeling as though the elite liberal cultural complex has quietly been robbing them blind through much of their adult lives—receptive to conservative politics. — David Roth, The New Republic, "Making sense of Donald Trump's petulant reign," 12 June 2019 The old factory sits at the base of a tiny peninsula, abutted on its northern rim by one of the countless bends in Oyster Creek, which winds its way through much of the Sugar Land. — Siddhartha Mahanta, The New York Review of Books, "One Man’s Quest for a Memorial to Sugar Land’s Bitter History," 4 June 2019 Mere Eglise, west coast of Cherbourg Peninsula, had fought their way through and linked up with Allied bridgehead on the east coast of the peninsula. — Wes Gallagher, Houston Chronicle, "YANKS TAKE TOWN NEAR CHERBOURG," 9 June 2019 Scroll through and discover our top 12 festival clothing picks! — Teen Vogue, "Festival Clothing that Stands Out in the Crowd: 12 Must-Have Styles," 9 Apr. 2019 Indonesia gives way to this adventurous lifestyle through lightly enforced road rules. — Muhammad Fadli, National Geographic, "See the wild, customized creations of Indonesia’s ‘rebel riders’," 4 Apr. 2019 Once launched, ballistic missiles swiftly accelerate through and beyond Earth’s atmosphere to low earth orbit. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Pentagon Wants to Test a Space-Based 'Particle Beam' by 2023," 18 Mar. 2019 Although Michael will produce heavy rain showers, the storm's accelerating forward movement should allow those downpours to move through and not over-saturate most areas. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Michael is now a major hurricane, and it may get a bit stronger," 9 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

To ease congestion along Mountain Road, the town plans to add a through lane in both the northbound and southbound directions, Sommer said. — Emily Brindley, courant.com, "West Hartford town council approves bike lane expansion on Mountain Road," 1 July 2019 Explorations of race and history have been a through line from his early works — his first and second novels, The Intuitionist and John Henry Days — to the present. — Mitchell S. Jackson, Time, "'I Carry It Within Me.' Novelist Colson Whitehead Reminds Us How America's Racist History Lives On," 27 June 2019 Approaching the intersection with Shore Road, Holguin pulled into the right-turn lane to pass traffic that was stopped in the through lane. — Bay City News, The Mercury News, "Motorcyclist killed on rural road south of Gilroy," 26 June 2019 Abraham chested the ball down midway in the Spurs half and, after escaping the challenge of Sanchez, poked a through ball in behind the defence towards Dyer. — SI.com, "WATCH: Christian Eriksen Brace Sees Dominant Tottenham Through to FA Cup Semi-Finals," 17 Mar. 2018 In a machine recount, all ballots across the state are re-fed through vote tabulators. — Arian Campo-flores, WSJ, "Florida Recount: How It Works," 9 Nov. 2018 Danny Rose gets a through ball on the left from Jordan Henderson and gets off a clean shot. — Andrew Das, New York Times, "England Shakes Its Shootout Curse and Saves Its World Cup," 5 July 2018 Bedoya sprung Burke with a through ball that split two Red Bulls defenders, and the Jamaican striker hit a cool, low shot. — Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com, "Haris Medunjanin, Cory Burke lead Union's 2-1 win over Red Bulls in U.S. Open Cup," 16 June 2018 Hernandez and Vela were through on goal but the latter couldn't quite find his compatriot with a through ball and Germany were able to recover to win back the ball. — Joe Marcovitch, Pro Soccer USA, "Germany 0-1 Mexico: Reigning champions stunned by magnificent El Tri in World Cup opener," 17 June 2018

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