Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition In one side and out the opposite or another side of.
  • preposition Among or between; in the midst of.
  • preposition By way of.
  • preposition By the means or agency of.
  • preposition Into and out of the handling, care, processing, modification, or consideration of.
  • preposition Here and there in; around.
  • preposition From the beginning to the end of.
  • preposition At or to the end of; done or finished with, especially successfully.
  • preposition Up to and including.
  • preposition Past and without stopping for.
  • preposition Because of; on account of.
  • adverb From one end or side to another or an opposite end or side.
  • adverb From beginning to end; completely.
  • adverb Throughout the whole extent or thickness; thoroughly.
  • adverb Over the total distance; all the way.
  • adverb To a conclusion or an accomplishment.
  • adjective Allowing continuous passage; unobstructed.
  • adjective Affording transportation to a destination with few or no stops and no transfers.
  • adjective Continuing on a highway without exiting.
  • adjective Passing or extending from one end, side, or surface to another.
  • adjective Having finished; at completion.
  • adjective Having no further concern, dealings, or connection.
  • adjective Having no more use, value, or potential; washed-up.
  • adjective Doomed to death or destruction.
  • idiom (through and through) In every part; throughout.
  • idiom (through and through) In every aspect; completely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In plowing and other field-work, a single passage across the field; half of a bout.
  • noun A stone coffin.
  • noun A through-stone; a perpend.
  • From one side or end to the other side or end of; from the beginning to the end of: expressing transition or motion from or as from one point to another.
  • From the beginning to the end of; in or during the course of; coincident with: as, to enjoy good health all through life.
  • Throughout; over the whole surface or extent of; in all directions in; all over: as, to travel through the country.
  • Expressing passage in and out of, among, along, or within some yielding medium, or separable or penetrable aggregate: as, to move through the water, as a fish or a ship; to wander through the jungle; to run the fingers through the hair.
  • Expressing complete passage from one step to another in any series or course of action or treatment: as, to go through an operation; to go through college (that is a course of instruction in college); to go through a course of treatment or training.
  • Among: expressing a succession of experiences in passing along any course to ultimate exit or emergence: as, to pass through perils or tribulations.
  • By way of: expressing a preliminary or intermediate stage.
  • By means of: expressing instrumentality, means, or agency.
  • By reason of; on account of; in consequence of; out of: expressing reason or actuating principle or impulse: as, to run away through fear.
  • See the verbs.
  • From one end or side to the other: as, to pierce or bore a thing through. See thorough, adv.
  • From beginning to end: as, to read a letter through.
  • To the end; to the ultimate purpose: as, to carry a project through.
  • To the end or terminal point, as of a line of travel: as, that ticket will take you through.
  • Thoroughly.
  • See the verbs.
  • Clear; open; unobstructed.
  • That extends or goes with little or no interruption or without change from one important or distant place to another: as, a through line of railway; a through train; a through passenger.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English thurh, through, from Old English thurh; see terə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English þrūh

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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.

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Examples

  • My lot would have loved the sun for their cycle ride to Walsingham..they were drenched through& through..i expect you would have preferred the rain!

    Horsham... Joanna Bogle 2007

  • If we are not yet prepared to be inducted into our national mission, through providential favor, then let us come to it through the inverse method: _through Ulterior and

    The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy Various

  • I thought I could detect in this hoodwinking of the Department of the Interior, through the agency of some local official, who had been 'reached' by the land ring, the first move in a well-planned raid on the public domain, _through the state land office.

    The Long Chance 1918

  • At last he was "through, just _through_ with loafing around and not getting acquainted," he told himself.

    Our Mr. Wrenn, the Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man Sinclair Lewis 1918

  • I'm through, just _through_ with Vashkowska and her horrid old school.

    The Trail of the Hawk A Comedy of the Seriousness of Life Sinclair Lewis 1918

  • The unity of all believers for which Christ solemnly prayed was to be accomplished through the direct agency of the apostles, the result of believing on Christ "_through_ THEIR _Word_"

    The Last Reformation 1913

  • I dare say that the simile is not perfect—for I am very far from admitting that he who contemplates existence through the medium of ideas, sees them only “through a glass darkly, ” any more than he who sees them in their working and effects.

    Phædo. Paras. 400-499 Plato 1909

  • As Franck pushes back through "the ink, paper, and letters of Scripture" to the Spirit and Truth which these great writings reveal, when they are read and apprehended in the light of an inward spiritual experience, so, too, he is always seeking, _through_ the historical Christ, to find the

    Spiritual Reformers in the 16th & 17th Centuries Rufus Matthew Jones 1905

  • The Pharisees through bein 'all stenched up an' frighted, an 'trying' to come _through_ with their supplications, they nature-ally changed the thin airs an 'humours in Flesh an' Blood.

    Puck of Pook's Hill Rudyard Kipling 1900

  • You can be of no use whatever to psychologists -- to say nothing of the actual damage you may be to the children -- unless you _know your babies through and through_.

    The Story of the Mind James Mark Baldwin 1897

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