through

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Contents

English [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

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 *þerh (“through”), *þurh, from Proto-Indo-European *ter- (“through, throughout, over”). Cognate with Scots throch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Gothic  (þaírh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.

Pronunciation [edit]

Preposition [edit]

through

  1. From one side of an opening to the other.
    I went through the window.
  2. Entering, then later exiting.
    I drove through the town at top speed without looking left or right.
  3. Surrounded by (while moving).
    We slogged through the mud for hours before turning back and giving up.
  4. By means of.
    This team believes in winning through intimidation.
    • 2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, BBC Sport:
      But the home side were ahead in the eighth minute through 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain.
  5. (North America) 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.
Translations [edit]
from one side of an opening to the other
entering, then later exiting
surrounded by (while moving)
by means of
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Derived terms [edit]
terms derived using the preposition "through"

Adjective [edit]

through (not comparable)

  1. Passing from one side of an object 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.
    • 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 [edit]

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.
  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.
Translations [edit]
From one side to the other

References [edit]

  • 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 [edit]

From Old English þrūh

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /θrʌf/

Noun [edit]

through (plural throughs)

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

Statistics [edit]

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