“through” – English explanatory dictionary

prep 1. across the inside of something; going in at one side and coming out of the other ○ The bullet went straight through the door. ○ She looked through the open door. ○ Cold air is coming in through the hole in the wall. ○ The street goes straight through the centre of the town. ○ She pushed the needle through the ball of wool. 2. during a period of time ○ They insisted on talking all through the film. ○ Snow accumulated through the winter. 3. by ○ We sent the parcel through the ordinary mail. ○ We heard of his wedding through the newspaper. 4. caused by ○ We marked him as absent through illness. ○ We missed the deadline through her forgetting to mark it in her diary. 5. US up to and including □ Monday through Friday from Monday to Friday inclusive ■ adv 1. going in at one side and coming out of the other side ○ Someone left the gate open and all the sheep got through. 2. speaking by telephone ○ I can’t get through to New York. ○ Can you put me through to Simon? 3. □ to see something through to make sure that something is finished ■ adj 1. not stopping □ through traffic traffic which is going through a town and doesn’t stop ○ Through traffic is being diverted to the bypass. 2. □ through with something finished using something, not wanting something any more ○ Are you through with the newspaper? ○ She’s through with her boyfriend.

finished. In America, where this word is most used in the
sense now given, a guest who has had enough will, when asked to take
more, say, “I’m THROUGH,” which is certainly preferable to the other
Americanism, “crammed.”

prep. [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. rad.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.

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, v. i.

a. 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.