pronunciation note: The preposition is pronounced (θruː). In other cases, through is pronounced (θruː)In addition to the uses shown below, through is used in phrasal verbs such as 'see through', 'think through', and 'win through'.
1. preposition
To move through something such as a hole, opening, or pipe means to move directly from one side or end of it to the other.
The theatre was evacuated when rain poured through the roof at the Liverpool Playhouse.
Go straight through that door under the EXIT sign.
Visitors enter through a side entrance.
The main path continues through a tunnel of trees.
Synonyms: via, by way of, by, between More Synonyms of through
Through is also an adverb.
He went straight through to the kitchen and took a can of cola from the fridge.
She opened the door and stood back to allow the man to pass through.
2. preposition
To cut through something means to cut it in two pieces or to make a hole in it.
A fish knife is designed to cut through the flesh but not the bones.
Some rabbits have even taken to gnawing through the metal.
Through is also an adverb.
Score deeper each time until the board is cut through.
3. preposition
To go through a town, area, or country means to travel across it or in it.
Go up to Ramsgate, cross into France, go through Andorra and into Spain.
...travelling through pathless woods.
The couple set off in August from Morocco, drove through the Sahara, visited Nigeriaand were heading for Zimbabwe.
...a memorable road trip through the California vineyards.
Through is also an adverb.
Few know that the tribe was just passing through.
4. preposition
If you move through a group of things or a mass of something, it is on either side of you or all aroundyou.
We made our way through the crowd to the river.
Sybil's fingers ran through the water.
Nancy kept running, plunging through the sand.
He hurried through the rain, to the patrol car.
Through is also an adverb.
He pushed his way through to the edge of the crowd where he waited.
5. preposition
To get through a barrier or obstacle means to get from one side of it to the other.
Allow twenty-five minutes to get through Passport Control and Customs.
He was one of the last of the crowd to pass through the barrier.
Traders generally travel safely through the border.
Through is also an adverb.
...a maze of barriers, designed to prevent vehicles driving straight through.
6. preposition
If a driver goes through a red light, they keep driving even though they should stop.
He was killed at a road junction by a van driver who went through a red light.
We drove through red traffic lights, the horn blaring.
7. preposition
If something goes into an object and comes out of the other side, you can say that it passes through the object.
The ends of the net pass through a wooden bar at each end.
Zita was herself unconventional, keeping a safety-pin stuck through her ear lobe.
Through is also an adverb.
I bored a hole so that the fixing bolt would pass through.
8. preposition
To go through a system means to move around it or to pass from one end of it to the other.
...electric currents travelling through copper wires.
What a lot of cards you've got through the post!
...a child's successful passage through the education system.
Through is also an adverb.
...a resolution which would allow food aid to go through with fewer restrictions.
9. preposition
If you see, hear, or feel something through a particular thing, that thing is between you and the thing you can see, hear, orfeel.
Alice gazed pensively through the wet glass.
They could hear music pulsing through the walls of the house.
I am sure I can feel a vibration through the soles of my feet.
10. preposition
If something such as a feeling, attitude, or quality, happens through an area, organization, or a person's body, it happens everywhere in it or affects all of it.
An atmosphere of anticipation vibrated through the crowd.
The melody that ran through his brain was composed of bad notes.
What was going through his mind when he spoke those amazing words?
A mood of optimism swept through the company and its customers.
11. preposition
If something happens or exists through a period of time, it happens or exists from the beginning until the end.
We're playing in New Zealand, Australia and Japan through November.
Saga features trips for older people at home and abroad all through the year.
She kept quiet all through breakfast.
Synonyms: during, throughout, in the middle of, for the duration of More Synonyms of through
Through is also an adverb.
We've got a tough programme, hard work right through to the summer.
He worked right through.
12. preposition
If something happens from a particular period of time through another, it starts at the first period and continues until the end of the second period.
[US]
...open Monday through Sunday from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm.
During her busy season (March through June), she often completes as many as fiftypaintings a week.
regional note: in BRIT, use to
Synonyms: to, up to and including More Synonyms of through
13. preposition
If you go through a particular experience or event, you experience it, and if you behave in a particular way through it, you behave in that way while it is happening.
Men go through a change of life emotionally just like women.
...a humorous woman who had lived through two world wars in Paris.
Why was I putting myself through all this misery?
Through it all, Mark was outwardly calm.
14. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you are throughwith something or if it is through, you have finished doing it and will never do it again. If you are throughwith someone, you do not want to have anything to do with them again.
I'm through with the explaining. [+ with]
Training as a counsellor would guarantee her employment once her schooling was through.
They were through. They wanted out. Forever.
I'm through with women.
Synonyms: finished with, done with, having had enough of More Synonyms of through
15. preposition
You use through in expressions such as half-way through and all the way through to indicate to what extent an action or task is completed.
A competitor collapsed half-way through the marathon.
Through is also an adverb.
Stir the meat about until it turns white all the way through.
16. preposition
If something happens because of something else, you can say that it happens through it.
They are understood to have retired through age or ill health.
The thought of someone suffering through a mistake of mine makes me shiver.
Synonyms: because of, by way of, by means of, by virtue of More Synonyms of through
17. preposition
You use through when stating the means by which a particular thing is achieved.
Those who seek to grab power through violence deserve punishment.
You simply can't get a ticket through official channels.
18. preposition
If you do something through someone else, they take the necessary action for you.
Do I need to go through my doctor or can I make an appointment direct?
Speaking through an interpreter, he called for some new thinking from the West.
19. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
If something such as a proposal or idea goes through, it is accepted by people in authority and is made legal or official.
It is possible that the present Governor General will be made interim President,if the proposals go through.
The secretary of state during the Nixon-Ford transition did not wish to push theproposals through.
Through is also a preposition.
They want to get the plan through Congress as quickly as possible.
20. preposition
If someone gets through an examination or a round of a competition, they succeed or win.
She was bright, learned languages quickly, and sailed through her exams.
All the seeded players got through the first round.
Through is also an adverb.
Nigeria also go through from that group.
21. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
When you get through while making a phone call, the call is connected and you can speak to the person you are phoning.
He may find the line cut on the phone so that he can't get through.
Smith tried to get through to Frank at Warm Springs the next morning.
22. preposition
If you look or go through a lot of things, you look at them or deal with them one after the other.
Let's go through the numbers together and see if a workable deal is possible.
When you have finished your list of personal preferences, go through it again.
David ran through the agreement with Guy, point by point.
He, too, had a lot of paperwork to get through.
23. preposition
If you read through something, you read it from beginning to end.
She read through pages and pages of the music I had brought her.
I only had time to skim through the script before I flew over here.
Through is also an adverb.
He read the article straight through.
24. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A through train goes directly to a particular place, so that the people who want to go theredo not have to change trains.
...Britain's longest through train journey, 685 miles.
25. adverb [adj ADV]
If you say that someone or something is wet through, you are emphasizing how wet they are.
[emphasis]
I returned to the inn cold and wet, soaked through by the drizzling rain.
She went on crying, and cried and cried until the pillow was wet through.
26.
See through and through
More Synonyms of through
English Easy Learning GrammarPrepositionsA preposition is one of a small but very common group of words that relate differentitems to each other. Most English prepositions have a number of meanings ... Read more
through in British English
(θruː)
preposition
1.
going in or starting at one side and coming out or stopping at the other side of
a path through the wood
2.
occupying or visiting several points scattered around in (an area)
3.
as a result of; by means of
the thieves were captured through his vigilance
4. mainly US
up to and including
Monday through Friday
5.
during
through the night
6.
at the end of; having (esp successfully) completed
7. through with
adjective
8. (postpositive)
having successfully completed some specified activity
9.
(on a telephone line) connected
10. (postpositive)
no longer able to function successfully in some specified capacity
as a journalist, you're through
11. (prenominal)
(of a route, journey, etc) continuous or unbroken
a through train
adverb
12.
through some specified thing, place, or period of time
13.
thoroughly; completely
Also: (informal or poetic) thro' or (informal or poetic) thro or (chiefly US) thru
Word origin
Old English thurh; related to Old Frisian thruch, Old Saxon thuru, Old High German duruh
through in American English
(θru)
preposition
1.
in one side and out the other side of; from end to end of
2.
a.
in the midst of
flying through the clouds
b.
among
hiking through the trees
3.
by way of
a train that goes through Boston
4.
over the entire extent or surface of
5.
to various places in; around
touring through France
6.
a.
from the beginning to the end or conclusion of
to go through an experience, through the summer, went through all his provisions
b. US
up to and including
through Friday
7.
without making a stop for
to go through a red light
8.
past the limitations or difficulties of
to fight through all the red tape
9.
by means of
through her help
10.
as a result of; because of
done through error
adverb
11.
in one side and out the other; from end to end
12.
from the beginning to the end
13.
completely to the end; to a conclusion
to see something through
14.
in every part or way; thoroughly; completely
soaked through
: also through and through
adjective
15.
extending from one place to another; allowing free passage
a through street
16. US
a.
traveling to the destination without stops
a through train
b.
continuing on without making a stop
through traffic
17. US
not necessitating changes; good for traveling without intermediate transfer
a through ticket
18.
arrived at the end; finished
through with an assignment
19.
at the end of one's usefulness, resources, etc.
through in politics
20.
having no further dealings, connections, etc. (with someone or something)
▶ USAGE: Through is also used in idiomatic expressions (e.g., get through), many of which are entered in this dictionary under the key words
Word origin
ME thurgh, thrugh < OE thurh, akin to Ger durch < IE base *ter-, through, beyond > L trans, across, Sans tiráḥ, through
Examples of 'through' in a sentence
through
We did not want to go through the upheaval of this again.
The Sun (2016)
That helped me get through my nursing degree.
The Sun (2016)
Bags of incoming mail were received and sorted on the trolleys as they moved through the city.
Smithsonian Insider (2017)
It is a slightly odd game in that both sides are already through.
The Sun (2016)
They could also gain respect through public service.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You had to fight your way through to the back.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Make sure you hop on the miniature steam train which passes through park.
The Sun (2017)
We will ask our people to think again about that through a general election or a new referendum.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I had been caught going through a traffic light on the change.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The reality of moving through gunfire yet again.
Oliver Poole BLACK KNIGHTS: On the Bloody Road to Baghdad (2003)
We want to get through this period.
The Sun (2009)
These are images to cut straight through the nervous system and hijack the soul.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We moved through the hot hills in a long line.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This makes it ideal for putting a side through its fielding practice.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They also have advanced through captain and major.
Peter F. Drucker THE ESSENTIAL DRUCKER (2001)
You can take an aspirin and fight your way through it.
The Sun (2008)
Thousands now pass through its doors annually.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We have to go through with it.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The gold medallist said she was stunned by how many riders jump lights or weave through traffic.
The Sun (2013)
Tens of thousands of people lost power after trees crashed through electricity lines.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This place was evidently built to protect the route running through the gorge.
Richard Fortey THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)
You can see it change through the app.
The Sun (2014)
The recruiter does not want to sift through pages to find your name and number.
The Sun (2010)
She had also been through a divorce.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Another way in is through work experience.
The Sun (2010)
In the same manner he befriended two other countries through which they passed ontheir way.
The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales (1812)
The message seemed to get through.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Now Shed is weighing up whether to go through the saga again.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Stick to that and we'll get through.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They will only need about 30 seconds on each side to cook through.
The Sun (2015)
GUESS this is what you'd call a snow through road.
The Sun (2010)
A holiday could be won as the moon moves through your long-distance chart.
The Sun (2007)
While she was waiting a call came through from White Waltham and a colleague took the call.
Giles Whittell Spitfire Women of World War II (2007)
In other languages
through
British English: through /θruː/ PREPOSITION
from one side to the other ofThrough means going all the way from one side of something to the other side.
We walked through the forest.
American English: through
Arabic: خِلَال
Brazilian Portuguese: através de
Chinese: 通过
Croatian: kroz
Czech: přes
Danish: gennem
Dutch: door
European Spanish: por vía
Finnish: läpi
French: à travers
German: durch
Greek: διαμέσου
Italian: attraverso
Japanese: ･･･を通って
Korean: ...을 통과하여
Norwegian: gjennom
Polish: przez
European Portuguese: através de
Romanian: de la un capăt la celălalt
Russian: через
Latin American Spanish: por a través de
Swedish: genom
Thai: ผ่านไป
Turkish: içinden
Ukrainian: через
Vietnamese: xuyên qua
All related terms of 'through'
cut through
to penetrate or go through by cutting
get through
If you get through a task or an amount of work, especially when it is difficult , you complete it.
go through
If you go through an experience or a period of time, especially an unpleasant or difficult one, you experience it.
let through
to allow to pass (through)
put through
When someone puts through someone who is making a phone call, they make the connection that allows the phone call to take place.
run through
If you run through a list of items , you read or mention all the items quickly.
see through
If you see through someone or their behaviour , you realize what their intentions are, even though they are trying to hide them.
sit through
If you sit through something such as a film, lecture , or meeting , you stay until it is finished although you are not enjoying it.
through way
a way that traffic or vehicles can pass through
win through
blow through
to leave; make off
break through
If you break through a barrier , you succeed in forcing your way through it.
carry through
If you carry something through , you do it or complete it, often in spite of difficulties .
click through
to navigate around (a website ) using the links provided to move onto different pages
come through
To come through a dangerous or difficult situation means to survive it and recover from it.
drive-through
A drive-through shop or restaurant is one where you can buy things without leaving your car.
fall through
If an arrangement , plan , or deal falls through , it fails to happen .
floor-through
an apartment that takes up the entire floor of a building
hear-through
(of headphones ) allowing a user to be aware of ambient sounds
leaf through
If you leaf through something such as a book or magazine , you turn the pages without reading or looking at them very carefully.
live through
If you live through an unpleasant event or change, you experience it and survive .
look through
If you look through a group of things, you examine each one so that you can find or choose the one that you want .
pass-through
a hatch , esp one for passing food from the kitchen to the dining room
play through
to pass another foursome or group with their permission , while playing a round of golf
print-through
the unwanted transfer of a recorded magnetic field pattern from one turn of magnetic tape to the preceding or succeeding turn on a reel , causing distortion
pull through
If someone with a serious illness or someone in a very difficult situation pulls through , they recover.
push through
If someone pushes through a law, they succeed in getting it accepted although some people oppose it.
romp through
If you romp through something, you do it or deal with it quickly and easily.
rush through
If you rush something through , you deal with it quickly so that it is ready in a shorter time than usual .
sail through
If someone or something sails through a difficult situation or experience , they deal with it easily and successfully.
sell-through
A sell-through video is a film on video that you can buy .
shoot through
to leave; depart
sleep through
If you sleep through something, it does not wake you up.
slip through
If something or something slips through a set of checks or rules , they are accepted when in fact they should not be.
talk through
If you talk something through with someone, you discuss it with them thoroughly.
think through
If you think a situation through , you consider it thoroughly, together with all its possible effects or consequences .
through-line
a theme or idea that runs from the beginning to the end of a book, film, etc
through-other
untidy or dishevelled
through-sung
sung throughout, with no spoken dialogue
through with
having finished with (esp when dissatisfied with)
thumb through
If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine , you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.
walk through
to act or recite (a part) in a perfunctory manner, as at a first rehearsal
work through
to resolve (a problem , esp an emotional one), by thinking about it repeatedly and hence lessening its intensity either by gaining insight or by becoming bored by it
button-through
(of a dress or skirt ) fastened with buttons from top to hem
follow through
If you follow through an action, plan , or idea or follow through with it, you continue doing or thinking about it until you have done everything possible .
muddle through
If you muddle through , you manage to do something even though you do not have the proper equipment or do not really know how to do it.
plough through
If you plough through something such as a large meal or a long piece of work, you finally finish it although it takes a lot of effort .
rattle through
If you rattle through something, you deal with it quickly in order to finish it.
scrape through
If you scrape through an examination , you just succeed in passing it. If you scrape through a competition or a vote , you just succeed in winning it.
squeak through
to succeed , get through, survive , etc. by a narrow margin or with difficulty
Chinese translation of 'through'
through
(θruː)
prep
[place]穿过(過) (chuānguò)
⇒ The rain poured through a hole in the roof.雨在屋顶上穿了一个洞。 (Yǔ zài wūdǐng shang chuānle yī gè dòng.)
(= throughout)[time]整个(個) (zhěnggè)
⇒ trips for older people all through the year整年都为老年人安排的旅行 (zhěng nián dōu wèi lǎoniánrén ānpái de lǚxíng)
(= coming from the other side of) 穿过(過) (chuānguò)
⇒ They could hear music through the walls of the house.他们能听到透过墙壁传来的音乐。 (Tāmen néng tīngdào tòuguò qiǎngbì chuánlái de yīnyuè.)
(= by means of) 通过(過) (tōngguò)
⇒ They were opposed to change through violence.他们反对通过暴力变革。 (Tāmen fǎnduì tōngguò bàolì biàngé.)
(= because of) 由于(於) (yóuyú)
⇒ The discovery of adrenalin came about through a mistake.由于一个错误导致了肾上腺素的发现。 (Yóuyú yī gè cuòwù dǎozhìle shènshàngxiànsù de fāxiàn.)
adv
(in space) 穿过(過) (chuānguò)
⇒ We decided to drive straight through to Birmingham.我们决定开车直接去伯明翰。 (Wǒmen juédìng kāichē zhíjiē qù Bómínghàn.)
(in time) 整个(個) (zhěnggè)
⇒ hard work right through the summer持续了整个夏天的辛苦工作 (chíxùle zhěnggè xiàtiān de xīnkǔ gōngzuò)
adj
[ticket, train]直达(達)的 (zhídá de)
(from) Monday through Friday (US) (从(從))周(週)一到周(週)五 ((cóng) zhōuyī dào zhōuwǔ)
英 = to
to be through (on telephone) 被接通 (bèi jiētōng)
⇒ You're through.已为您接通。 (Yǐ wèi nín jiētōng.)
⇒ You're through to the accounts department.已为你接到会计部。 (Yǐ wèi nǐ jiē dào kuàijìbù.)
to be through with sb/sth与(與)某人断(斷)绝(絕)往来(來)/再也不做某事 (yǔ mǒurén duànjué wǎnglái/zài yě bù zuò mǒushì)
"no through road or (US) traffic""此路不通" ("cǐ lù bù tōng")
All related terms of 'through'
get through
( Tel ) 接通 jiētōng
go through
( place, town ) 路过(過) lùguò
put through
( Tel : person, phone call ) 接通 jiētōng ⇒ "Data Room, please." — "I'll put you through." → "请接资料室。" "我给你接通。" "Qǐng jiē zīliàoshì." "Wǒ gěi nǐ jiētōng."
run through
( instructions ) 扫(掃)视(視) sǎoshì
see through
( help : person ) 帮(幫)助 ... 渡过(過)难(難)关(關) bāngzhù ... dùguò nánguān ⇒ $50 should see you through. → 50美金应该能够帮你渡过难关。 Wǔshí měijīn yīnggāi nénggòu bāng nǐ dùguò nánguān. ⇒ He saw me through the hard times. → 他曾帮我度过艰难岁月。 Tā céng bāng wǒ dùguò jiānnán suìyuè.