From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷe, suffixed zero-grade from *terh₂- (“to pass through”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian döör (“through”), Saterland Frisian truch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Luxembourgish duerch (“through”), West Flemish deur (“through”), Yiddish דורך (durkh, “through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.
› From one side or end of (something) to the other.
1
So as to enter (something), pass within or across, and then leave.
I drove through Lausanne on my way from Geneva to Zurich.
The bullet went right through his leg.
1 more example
A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
2
So as to progress within (something) or towards the end or limit of (something).
The virus broke out in the capital city and is now spreading quickly through the country.
I'm working through this box set of 'Downton Abbey'.
3
From one side of (an opening) to the other.
Go straight ahead and through that door.
Look through the window.
4
To or beyond the other side of (an obstacle); past.
I hope to start in the autumn, but I've got to get through the interview first.
The finance bill did not get through Congress.
4 more examples
We're through the worst part.
The going will be easier once we're through the bog.
You can't see through a brick wall!
Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
5
Indicating that something has been consumed or used up.
'get through' etc. In phrases such as 'go through'
Have you got through all those chocolates already?!
The company went through its £100m startup investment in six months.
6
Along the course of; used in expressions of progress towards the end of something.
We're halfway through the year.
7
Throughout the duration of.
He worked through the night.
I never want to sit through another meeting like that again.
› Via or by way of.
8
By way of (a physical passage).
The hot water enters through this pipe.
9
By way of (an intermediary, agent, medium, etc.).
I met her through a friend of mine.
This matter was dealt with through our London office.
2 more examples
I received this anonymous letter through the post.
Inf America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%.2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
10
Throughout or across the extent of.
There are errors all through this report.
Work the eggs and sugar through the mixture.
11
Amidst or surrounded by (while moving).
We slogged through the mud for hours before turning back and giving up.
The arrow flew through the air.
4 more examples
I spent all day wading through paperwork.
Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. […] He walked the whole way, walking through crowds, and under the noses of dray-horses, carriage-horses, and cart-horses, without taking the least notice of them.1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:
I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 1:
12
Canada, US To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values; to... inclusive; until the end of.
from 1945 through 1991; the numbers 1 through 9; your membership is active through March 15, 2013
The plural is "oyesses", but "oyes" vied with "oyez" through about the first half of the nineteenth century.
1 more example
It includes patent requests in machine learning through 2016, the last year for which details are available.2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2019:
13
By means of.
This team believes in winning through intimidation.
He's got to where he is today through sheer hard work and determination.
2 more examples
But the home side were ahead in the eighth minute through 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain.2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:
Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
14
In consequence of; as a result of.
The project failed through lack of investment.
Our minds and hearts are corrupted with the Adamic virus at birth, and through a lifetime of sin and tragedy, our hearts and thoughts get more evil and more corrupted as we experience life's tragedies.2012, Dimitri Yanuli, You Might Be Right, but You Ain't Right with the Word of God:
From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷe, suffixed zero-grade from *terh₂- (“to pass through”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian döör (“through”), Saterland Frisian truch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Luxembourgish duerch (“through”), West Flemish deur (“through”), Yiddish דורך (durkh, “through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.
Interstate highways form a nationwide system of through roads.
It is possible to use a through bolt so that the bolt will be loaded axially, but usually axial loads are only components of the total load on the bolt.1994, Don A. Halperin, G. Thomas Bible, Principles of Timber Design for Architects and Builders, page 137:
They were through with laying the subroof by noon.
Early in the Talmudic period the service was divided between two officers. One was invited to recite the Shema including the benedictions connected with it […] After he was through, another man was invited to stand up before the pulpit facing the direction of Jerusalem to recite the prayer proper, i.e., the Amida.1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 108:
3
Along the course of a task etc.; used in expressions of progress towards the end.
It's a big job but we're halfway through.
4
Without a future; done for.
After being implicated in the scandal, he was through as an executive in financial services.
You chumps are tougher than you look. But I'm not through yet! Everyone! GET 'EM!!!2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Shhwonk Fortress:
5
No longer interested; wearied or turned off by experience.
She was through with him.
“I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
2 more examples
We’re through being cool. We’re through being cool. Eliminate the ninnies and the twits.1981 September 16, Devo, “Through Being Cool”, in New Traditionalists:
I'm worth a million in prizes / Yeah, I'm through with sleeping on the sidewalk / No more beating my brains / No more beating my brains / With the liquor and drugs / With the liquor and drugs1977, Iggy Pop, Lust For Life:
6
Proceeding from origin to destination without the need to change transport vehicle.
The through flight through Memphis was the fastest.
When is the next through train to London?
1 more example
Also the 10.45 a.m. from Paddington by the same route is called "Through Train via Severn Tunnel," but in later years, when made up of corridor stock, it is called "Through Corridor Express via Severn Tunnel." The frequent use of "through" on the South Wales section of G.W.R. began when the Severn Tunnel route was used for through trains between Paddington and South Wales in the summer of 1887 in order to draw continual attention to the improved facilities.1940 November, “Notes and News: The First Corridor Train”, in Railway Magazine, page 618:
7
Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal.
With the Swifts calling for offside the striker was through and only a great save from McIlravey prevented the opener.2015, Steve Grossi, SWFL1: Missed Chances See Swifts Relinquish Top Spot:
8
Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, Rare, In Canada (usually followed by "to") Able to progress (to the next stage or a higher level) following success in an exam, sports match, etc.
Manchester United are through to the FA Cup Final for the thirteenth time.
From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷe, suffixed zero-grade from *terh₂- (“to pass through”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian döör (“through”), Saterland Frisian truch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Luxembourgish duerch (“through”), West Flemish deur (“through”), Yiddish דורך (durkh, “through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.
I didn't like the look of the place, so I drove through without stopping.
2
By way of an opening.
I opened the window and climbed through.
3
So as to overcome an obstacle and pass beyond it; past.
The road is blocked by an overturned truck, and cars can't get through.
The American army broke through at Saint-Lô.
4
So as to pass a stage in a process and proceed to the next stage or level.
The bill will be tabled tomorrow, but I doubt that it will be voted through.
She progressed through to the final round of the competition.
5
From beginning to end, or from the present position to the end.
Others went to bed for the night; he worked straight through.
She read the letter through.
2 more examples
The baby cried the whole night through.
He said he would see it through.
6
Throughout something; all the way across or into.
Leave the yarn in the dye overnight so the color soaks through.
7
In the phrase 'get through' So as to connect or reach.
I've been ringing my bank all day, and finally I've got through.
Can you put me through to the manager?
through
noun
/θɹʌf/ · /θɹuː/
Etymology From Middle English thrugh, þrouȝ, throgh, from Old English þrūh (“trough, conduit, pipe; box, chest; coffin, tomb”), from Proto-Germanic *þrūhs (“hollowed-out wood”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₃u- (“to rub, turn, drill, bore”). Not directly related with German Truhe (“chest”), which belongs to the root of English trough. However, these two Germanic roots seem to have influenced each other early on.
1
Obsolete A coffin, sarcophagus or tomb of stone; a large slab of stone laid on a tomb, or in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other; a perpend.