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. AdjectiveWhen the police were through with him, a taxi took him, his suitcase, the homburg funeral hat, in the other direction … Annie Proulx, Atlantic, November 1997I 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, 1991Today 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
High school can be tough enough on your own, so imagine going through adolescence while constantly being compared to your twin sister. Ew Staff, EW.com, 9 Sep. 2022 Looks like it’s @JGermanRJ going through our trash for his 4th story on me. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 One study found, for example, that spouses who undergo no treatment still lose about half as much weight as a partner going through treatment. Josh Zumbrun, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 The redshirt freshman leads the country in passing yards (646) and passing touchdowns (nine) through two games, establishing himself as a worthy heir to former Tar Heels star Sam Howell.Baltimore Sun, 9 Sep. 2022 Anya did not immediately respond to requests for an interview made by phone and through Twitter. Mike Memoli, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2022 Akron is trying to rebuild its culture the old-fashioned way — through the transfer portal. Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 9 Sep. 2022 Special masters are most frequently named to sort through documents involved in a court proceeding and examine them for certain types of privileges. Perry Stein, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2022 For example, during a 30-minute Fundations lesson in a kindergarten class at Baker, the students were going through a lesson with a story about Fred the Frog. Lelah Byron And Aimee Galaszewski, Journal Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2022
Adverb
But even then, a sensuous, feminine side had started to push through. Briana Miller | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 9 Sep. 2022 Add black beans and red pepper flakes and cook until warmed through, another 3 minutes. Shreyas Laddha, Hartford Courant, 9 Sep. 2022 Alabama finally broke through in 1986, winning 28-10 in Birmingham in a game famous for Cornelius Bennett’s bone-crushing sack of Steve Beuerlein. Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 9 Sep. 2022 Genuinely sorry to see so many great people go, but, at the end of the day, only two are going through. Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2022 The overriding goal of the review isn’t yet outlined, and regulatory processes can take a long time to work through. Telis Demos, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 With an offense that at first looked overmatched before eventually breaking through and a defense that suffocated McDonogh after its first score, Concordia Prep completed the upset. Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 8 Sep. 2022 There are many interlocking choices to work through. Ingfei Chen, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2022 Milwaukee broke through against Colorado starter Ryan Feltner the next inning on consecutive two-out hits by Andrew McCutchen and Jace Peterson. Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2022
Adjective
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 Arriving at Union depot we were compelled to wait an hour for the through train to Cape May. Mary Ann Ashcraft, Baltimore Sun, 23 July 2022 But the committee will attempt to place the story of the violence at the Capitol in the context of a broader, multi-tentacled plot to overturn the results of Joe Biden’s electoral victory, with Trump’s involvement serving as the through line. Jacqueline Alemany, Josh Dawsey And Amy Gardner, Anchorage Daily News, 6 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Preposition, Adverb, and Adjective
Middle English thurh, thruh, through, from Old English thurh; akin to Old High German durh through, Latin trans across, beyond, Sanskrit tarati he crosses over
First Known Use
Preposition
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Adverb
before the 13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1