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. See through withadjective
8. (postpositive) having

successfully

completed

some specified activity

9. (on a telephone line) connected
10. (postpositive) no

longer able to function successfully

in

some

specifiedcapacity 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

time13. thoroughly; completely

In addition to the uses shown below, through is used in phrasal verbs

such as 'see through', 'think through', and 'win through'.
1. prepositionTo move through something such as a hole, opening,
or pipe means to movedirectly 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

tunnel

of

trees.Through is also an adverb. He went straight through to the

kitchen and took a can of beer from the fridge. She opened the
door and stood back to allow the man to pass through.
2. prepositionTo cut through something means to cut it in two
pieces or to make a hole in it. Use a proper fish knife and fork if
possible as they are designed to cut through the flesh but not the
bones. Rabbits still manage to find a way in. I am sure that some
have even taken to gnawing through the metal.Through is also an
adverb. Score lightly at first and then repeat, scoring deeper each
time until the board is cut through.
3. prepositionTo 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 Nigeria and were heading for Zimbabwe. ...and
Sue

Cook

takes

her

family

on

motoring

trip

through

Cornwall.Through is also an adverb. Few know that the tribe was

just passing through.
4. prepositionIf you move through a group of things or a mass of
something, it is on either side of you or all around you. 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. prepositionTo 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 concrete and
steel barriers, designed to prevent vehicles driving straight through.

6. prepositionIf

a driver goes through a red light,

they keep driving even though they shouldstop. 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. prepositionIf something goes into an object and comes out of the
other side, you can saythat it passes through the object. The ends
of the net pass through a wooden bar at each end. Zita was herself
unconventional,

keeping

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. prepositionTo 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. It is also expected to consider a
resolution which would allow food to go through immediately 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, or feel. 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.
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 fifty paintings a week.
REGIONAL NOTE:

in BRIT, use to

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 ishappening. 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 [v-link ADJ]If you are through with something or if it
is through, you have finished doing it and will never do it again. If
you are through with someone, you do notwant to have anything to
do

with

them

again. [+ with] I'm

through

with

the

explaining. Training as a marriage counsellor would guarantee her

some employment once her schooling was through. They were
through. They wanted out. Forever. I'm through with women.
15. prepositionYou

use through in expressions such

as half-way

through and all the way through to indicate to what extent an

action

or task is

collapsed

completed. A

half-way

through

the

thirty-nine-year-old
marathon

and

competitor

died

shortly

afterwards.Through is also an adverb. Stir the pork about until it

turns white all the way through.
16. prepositionIf something happens because of something else, you
can

say

that

it

happensthrough it. because

of They

are

understood to have retired through age or ill health. The thought of

someone suffering through a mistake of mine makes me shiver.

17. prepositionYou use through when stating the means by which a

particular thing isachieved. Those who seek to grab power through
violence deserve punishment. You simply can't get a ticket through
official channels.
18. prepositionIf you do something through someone else, they take
the necessary action for you. Do I need to go through my doctor or
can

make

an

appointment

direct? Speaking

through

an

interpreter, he called for some new thinking from the West.

19. adverb [ADV after

v]If

a proposal or idea goes through,

something
it

such

is accepted by

as
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 the proposals through.Through is also
a preposition. They want to get the plan through Congress as
quickly as possible.
20. prepositionIf
a round of

someone

a competition,

gets through an examination or

theysucceed 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 [ADV after v]When you get through while making a
telephone call, the call is connected and you can speak to the person
you are phoning. He may find the line cut on the telephone so that
he can't get through. Smith tried to get through to Frank at Warm
Springs the next morning.
22. prepositionIf 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. prepositionIf 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, looking for any scrap of information that might have
passed him by.
24. adjective [ADJ n]A through train goes directly to a particular
place, so that the people who want to go there do not have
to change trains. ...Britain's longest through train journey, 685
miles.
25. adverb [adj ADV]If
is wet through,

you

you

say

that

someone

are emphasizinghow

or

something

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.

Phrase
Through

and

through means

completely

and

to

the greatest extentpossible. I've gotten my feet thoroughly soaked

and feel frozen through and through. People assume they know me
through and through the moment we meet.