through / [unvoicedth]roō/ • prep. & adv. 1. moving in one side and out of the other side of (an opening, channel, or location): [as prep.] stepping boldly through the doorway | [as adv.] as soon as we opened the gate, they came streaming through. ∎  so as to make a hole or opening in (a physical object): [as prep.] the truck smashed through a brick wall | [as adv.] a cucumber, slit, but not all the way through. ∎  moving around or from one side to the other within (a crowd or group): [as prep.] making my way through the guests. ∎  so as to be perceived from the other side of (an intervening obstacle): [as prep.] the sun was streaming in through the window | [as adv.] the glass in the front door where the moonlight streamed through. ∎  [prep.] expressing the position or location of something beyond or at the far end of (an opening or an obstacle): the approach to the church is through a gate. ∎  expressing the extent of turning from one orientation to another: [as prep.] each joint can move through an angle within fixed limits. 2. continuing in time toward completion of (a process or period): [as prep.] he showed up halfway through the second act | [as adv.] to struggle through until payday. ∎  so as to complete (a particular stage or trial) successfully: [as prep.] she had come through her sternest test | [as adv.] I will struggle through alone rather than ask for help. ∎  from beginning to end of (an experience or activity, typically a tedious or stressful one): [as prep.] we sat through some very boring speeches she's been through a bad time | [as adv.] Karl will see you through, Ingrid. 3. so as to inspect all or part of (a collection, inventory, or publication): [as prep.] flipping through the pages of a notebook | [as adv.] she read the letter through carefully. 4. [prep.] up to and including (a particular point in an ordered sequence): they will be in town from March 24 through May 7.5. [prep.] by means of (a process or intermediate stage): dioxins get into mothers' milk through contaminated food. ∎  by means of (an intermediary or agent): seeking justice through the proper channels.6. [adv.] so as to be connected by telephone: he put a call through to the senator.• adj. 1. (of a means of public transportation or a ticket) continuing or valid to the final destination: a through train from Boston.2. denoting traffic that passes from one side of a place to another in the course of a longer journey: neighborhoods from which through traffic would be excluded. ∎  denoting a road that is open at both ends, allowing traffic free passage from one end to the other: the shopping center is on a busy through road.3. (of a room) running the whole length of a building.4. inf. having no prospect of any future relationship, dealings, or success: she told him she was through with him you and I are through.PHRASES: through and through in every aspect; thoroughly or completely: Harriet was a political animal through and through.