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 Phrases Containing through Learn More About through

Synonyms & Antonyms for through

Synonyms: Preposition

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

Synonyms: Adverb

Synonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Adjective

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition Kelly and aligned Democratic groups have $34.4 million on the airwaves through Election Day, while Masters and aligned Republican groups have reserved $6.8 million, per AdImpact. — Ben Kamisar, NBC News, 21 Sep. 2022 In March 2021, the restaurant reopened and Betz hired back about half of his employees, although a few people remained on the payroll through the closures. — Mario Cortez, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Sep. 2022 Another season of The Bachelorette has officially come to a close, and the drama continued through to the very end. — Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 21 Sep. 2022 The bill, which is similar to legislation moving through the Senate, would clarify in the law that the vice president’s role presiding over the count is only ceremonial and also sets out that each state can only send one certified set of electors. — Mary Clare Jalonick, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Sep. 2022 The nine Republicans that voted in favor of the measure all share something in common—whether through retirement of a primary loss, none will be returning to Congress next term. — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 21 Sep. 2022 On the marshy mainland, caimans slide alone through the water, staring blankly — an eye looks more like a galaxy of stars than an organ of sight. — Yael Martínez, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2022 Right now, refunds are only being done via phone and not through any website or email. — Adriana Morga, ajc, 21 Sep. 2022 That first started through his service and his ministry. — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Sep. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The Rayna lace-up boots will get you through from day to night without skipping a beat. — Daisy Maldonado, SELF, 22 Sep. 2022 Real and meaningful work Since the program began, about 20 men have gone through and graduated. — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Sep. 2022 The partners teamed on the current plan in 2017 after two previous redevelopment efforts, dating to 1987, fell through. — Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Sep. 2022 Burke then expanded on her difficult split from Lawrence, explaining how working on the show with former celebrity partner Cody Rigsby helped her through. — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2022 Strange and his linemates remained focused on keeping Mac Jones clean and prying open spaces for the running backs to race through. — Jim Mcbride, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Sep. 2022 By the time the exhibition closed in February 1985, 1,073,849 visitors had filed through. — Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2022 Sabbaticals are a chance to to reset ideas and goals and build the energy to see them through. — Erika James, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2022 There are also smaller works, like a small house made out of bark and held together with tape, as well as another house made of silicon shot through with bullets. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Normally what happens by screening things chronologically is a through line will emerge. — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 15 Sep. 2022 Joao Moutinho’s own goal put Philadelphia ahead in the 39th minute and Mikael Uhre doubled the lead in the 43rd off a through pass from Gazdag, who converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute. — Wire Reports, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2022 Campaigning door-to-door with his pal this summer, Bissell is reminded of the through story in Amato’s trajectory. — Peter Marks, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2022 What’s the through line? Let’s first stipulate that tragedy, people oft forget, is not so much about flaws or sadness but about the human experience of chaos. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2022 Balancing freedom to live without restrictions with the freedom from being needlessly exposed to disease should be the through line of our national narrative, policies and practices. — Steven Phillips, Scientific American, 3 Aug. 2022 The hearings to date have featured a wide range of witnesses, but the through line of nearly all the testimony has been former President Trump and his relentless efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. — CBS News, 24 July 2022 That was the through line throughout the entire filming process. — Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 23 July 2022 Dead ducks are the through line of an Eleven Madison Park episode of 7 Days Out, a show chronicling the week leading up to a major event. — Alicia Kennedy, Bon Appétit, 1 July 2022 See More

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.