Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Through

Through

,
p
rep.
[OE.
thurgh
,
þurh
,
þuruh
,
þoruh
, AS.
þurh
; akin to OS.
thurh
,
thuru
, OFries.
thruch
, D.
door
, OHG.
durh
,
duruh
, G.
durch
, Goth.
þaírh
; cf. Ir.
tri
,
tre
, W.
trwy
. √53. Cf.
Nostril
,
Thorough
,
Thrill
.]
1.
From end to end of, or from side to side of; from one surface or limit of, to the opposite; into and out of at the opposite, or at another, point;
as, to bore
through
a piece of timber, or
through
a board; a ball passes
through
the side of a ship
.
2.
Between the sides or walls of; within;
as, to pass
through
a door; to go
through
an avenue
.
Through
the gate of ivory he dismissed
His valiant offspring.
Dryden.
3.
By means of; by the agency of.
Through
these hands this science has passed with great applause.
Sir W. Temple.
Material things are presented only
through
their senses.
Cheyne.
4.
Over the whole surface or extent of;
as, to ride
through
the country; to look
through
an account
.
5.
Among or in the midst of; – used to denote passage;
as, a fish swims
through
the water; the light glimmers
through
a thicket
.
6.
From the beginning to the end of; to the end or conclusion of;
as,
through
life;
through
the year
.

Through

,
adv.
1.
From one end or side to the other;
as, to pierce a thing
through
.
2.
From beginning to end;
as, to read a letter
through
.
3.
To the end; to a conclusion; to the ultimate purpose;
as, to carry a project
through
.
☞
Through
was formerly used to form compound adjectives where we now use
thorough
; as,
through
-bred;
through
-lighted;
through
-placed, etc.
To drop through
,
to fall through; to come to naught; to fail.
–
To fall through
.
See under
Fall
,
Verb.
I.

Through

,
Adj.
Going or extending through; going, extending, or serving from the beginning to the end; thorough; complete;
as, a
through
line; a
through
ticket; a
through
train
. Also, admitting of passage through;
as, a
through
bridge
.
Through bolt
,
a bolt which passes through all the thickness or layers of that which it fastens, or in which it is fixed.
–
Through bridge
,
a bridge in which the floor is supported by the lower chords of the tissues instead of the upper, so that travel is between the trusses and not over them. Cf.
Deck bridge
, under
Deck
.
–
Through cold
,
a deep-seated cold.
[Obs.]
Holland.
–
Through stone
,
a flat gravestone.
[Scot.]
[Written also
through stane
.]
Sir W. Scott.
–
Through ticket
,
a ticket for the whole journey.
–
Through train
,
a train which goes the whole length of a railway, or of a long route.

Webster 1828 Edition

Through

THROUGH

, prep. thru.
1.
From end to end, or from side to side; from one surface or limit to the opposite; as, to bore through a piece of timber, or through a board; a ball passes through the side of a ship.
2.
Noting passage; as, to pass through a gate or avenue.
Through the gates of iv'ry he dismiss'd
His valiant offspring.
3.
By transmission, noting the means of conveyance.
Through these hands this science has passed with great applause.
Material things are presented only through their senses.
4.
By means of; by the agency of; noting instrumentality. This signification is a derivative of the last.
Through the scent of water it will bud. Job 14.
Some through ambition, or through thirst of gold,
Have slain their brothers, and their country sold.
Sanctify them through thy truth. John 17.
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom.6.
5.
Over the whole surface or extent; as, to ride through the country.
Their tongue walketh through the earth. Ps.73.
6.
Noting passage among or in the midst of; as, to move through water, as a fish; to run through a thicket, as a deer.

THROUGH

,
adv.
thru. From one end or side to the other; as, to pierce a thing through.
1.
From beginning to end; as, to read a letter through.
2.
To the end; to the ultimate purpose; as, to carry a project through.
To carry through, to complete; to accomplish.
To go through, to prosecute a scheme to the end.
1.
To undergo; to sustain; as, to go through hardships.

Definition 2024

through

through

English

Alternative forms

  • thorow (obsolete)
  • thru (US, Canada)
  • thorough (obsolete, except in compounds such as thoroughfare)

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: thro͞o IPA(key): /θɹuː/
  • (US) enPR: thro͞o IPA(key): /θɹu/
  • Hyphenation: through
  • Homophones: threw, thru

Preposition

through

  1. From one side of an opening to the other.
    I went through the window.‎
    • 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
      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.
  2. Entering, then later leaving.
    I drove through the town at top speed without looking left or right.‎
    • 1893, Walter Besant, The Ivory Gate, Prologue:
      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.
    • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, Nobody, chapter III:
      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.
    • 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
      In 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%.
  3. Surrounded by (while moving).
    We slogged through the mud for hours before turning back and giving up.‎
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
    • 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
      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.
  4. By means of.
    This team believes in winning through intimidation.‎
    • 2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2-1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:
      But the home side were ahead in the eighth minute through 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain.
    • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      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.
  5. (Canada, US) To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values.
    from 1945 through 1991;  the numbers 1 through 9;  your membership is active through March 15, 2013‎
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Adjective

through ‎(not comparable)

  1. Passing from one side of something to the other.
    Interstate highways form a nationwide system of through roads.‎
  2. Finished; complete.
    They were through with laying the subroof by noon.‎
  3. Valueless; without a future.
    After being implicated in the scandal, he was through as an executive in financial services.‎
  4. No longer interested.
    She was through with him.‎
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter I:
      “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”.
    • 1977, Iggy Pop, Lust For Life
      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 drugs
  5. Proceeding from origin to destination without delay due to change of equipment.
    The through flight through Memphis was the fastest.‎

Adverb

through ‎(not comparable)

  1. From one side to the other by way of the interior.
    The arrow went straight through.
  2. From one end to the other.
    Others slept; he worked straight through.
    She read the letter through.
  3. To the end.
    He said he would see it through.
  4. Completely.
    Leave the yarn in the dye overnight so the color soaks through.
  5. Out into the open.
    The American army broke through at St. Lo.

Noun

through ‎(plural throughs)

  1. A large slab of stone laid in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other.
Translations

References

  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Etymology 2

From Old English þrūh

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θrʌf/
  • Hyphenation: through

Noun

through ‎(plural throughs)

  1. A large slab of stone laid on a tomb.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: might · being · day · #115: through · himself · go · how

Etymology

From Middle English *thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of Middle English thurgh, thurh, from Old English þorh, þurh, þerh, þærh ‎(“through, for, during, by, by means of, by use of, because of, in consequence of”), from Proto-Germanic, *þurhw ‎(“through”), from Proto-Indo-European suffixed zero-grade *tr̥h₂kʷe from *terh₂- ‎(“to pass through”) + *-kʷe ‎(“and”). Cognate with Scots throch ‎(“through”), West Frisian troch ‎(“through”), Dutch door ‎(“through”), German durch ‎(“through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 ‎(þairh, “through”), Latin trans ‎(“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor ‎(“through, around”), Welsh tra ‎(“through”). See also thorough.

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