The Meaning of Through: What It Is and How To Use It

Through is a very common word, but what does it mean? This article will cover the meaning of through and how to use it in a sentence.

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What does the word through mean, and are there multiple ways to use it? This article will cover the definition of the word through and how to use it in various contexts. It will also provide various synonyms, antonyms, and translations of the word through.

What Does the Word Through Mean?

According to Dictionary, the word through can be used as a preposition, an adjective, and an adverb. 

As a preposition, through means past, beyond, or going in at one end and coming out at the other. As an adverb, the word through also means in one end and out the other, as well as “all the way.” As an adjective, through means completed, finished, or at the end.

The word through is a homophone of the word threw, which is the past tense of the word throw. These words are both pronounced thro͞o in American English and θruː in British English.

What Is the Etymology of the Word Through?

The word through has been used for a long time — since before the year 900 CE! This word comes from the Middle English adverb and preposition thourgh, which comes from the Old English thurh. T

hese terms are akin to the German durch, Old English therh, Old High German derh, Gothic thairh, and Old English thyrel.

How Can Through Be Used in a Sentence?

This word of the day can be used in many contexts as an adjective, adverb, and preposition. By studying the example sentences below, you can learn all of the different ways to use through. See if you can determine if through is used as an adjective, adverb, or preposition in each of these examples:

Example #1: Open Monday Through Friday

The corner store was open Monday through Friday, and many school children enjoyed stopping in for a snack on the way home from school. 

Example #2: Through the Belly of the Beast

I decided to go through the whole distance of the desert rather than around it because I was in a hurry. Little did I know there would be no water for miles. 

Example #3: Through All the Clothing

Last year, I decided to run a marathon even though it was raining out. By the end of the race, I was soaking wet through my shoes, socks, and underwear. All I wanted was a hot drink and a hot shower.

Example #4: Through the Process

Her instrumentality through the process of developing the bill led her to receive high praise from the whole team.

Example #5: Through the Advent of Flight

Through flying, we got from Los Angeles to New York in a short period of time.

Example #6: Through Hard Work

Through hard work, we were able to develop the new interactive software that would allow people worldwide to communicate with ease.

Example #7: Through a Red Light

The driver plowed right through the red light, and the cop instantly pulled him over to give him a ticket.

What Are Translations of Through?

Nice Translator provides translations of through to use this preposition, adverb, and adjective in numerous languages no matter where you are in the world! 

  • Dutch: er doorheen
  • Czech: přes
  • Gujarati: દ્વારા
  • Thai: ผ่าน
  • French: par
  • Telugu: ద్వారా
  • Swahili: kupitia
  • Hebrew: דרך
  • Russian: через
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 通過
  • Greek: διά μέσου
  • Ukrainian: через
  • Turkish: vasıtasıyla
  • Filipino: sa pamamagitan ng
  • Portuguese (Portugal): Através dos
  • Croatian: kroz
  • Arabic: عبر
  • Indonesian: melalui
  • Lithuanian: per
  • Slovenian: skozi
  • Danish: igennem
  • Tamil: மூலம்
  • Icelandic: um
  • Marathi: माध्यमातून
  • Estonian: läbi
  • Norwegian: gjennom
  • Bulgarian: през
  • Serbian: кроз
  • Kannada: ಮೂಲಕ
  • Japanese: 使って
  • Hindi: के माध्यम से
  • Basque: -an zehar
  • Polish: poprzez
  • Romanian: prin
  • Spanish: a través de
  • Welsh: drwodd
  • Malay: melalui
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Através dos
  • Vietnamese: bởi vì
  • Italian: attraverso
  • Amharic: በኩል
  • Latvian: cauri
  • Korean: ~을 통해
  • Swedish: genom
  • Malayalam: മുഖാന്തിരം
  • Slovak: prostredníctvom
  • Chinese (PRC): 通过
  • Finnish: kautta
  • Hungarian: keresztül
  • Bengali: মাধ্যম
  • German: durch
  • Urdu: کے ذریعے
  • Catalan: a través de

What Are Synonyms of Through?

Since through can be various parts of speech, it can be useful to know synonyms of this word if you need to clarify what you mean. Power Thesaurus’s list of synonyms of through is a great place to start. 

  • about
  • across
  • along
  • among
  • around
  • as a consequence of
  • as a result
  • as a result of
  • as part
  • because
  • because of
  • by
  • by dint of
  • by means of
  • by virtue of
  • by way of
  • complete
  • completed
  • direct
  • done
  • done for
  • down
  • due to
  • during
  • ended
  • finished
  • following
  • for
  • in
  • in consequence of
  • in the course of
  • in the form
  • in the form of
  • in virtue of
  • into
  • on account of
  • over
  • owing to
  • past
  • pending
  • per
  • straight
  • thereby
  • throughout
  • until
  • upon
  • using
  • via
  • with
  • within

What Are Antonyms of Through?

There are also plenty of antonyms of through to learn from Power Thesaurus. These words mean the opposite of the word through.

  • abort
  • around
  • as opposed to
  • beyond
  • continuing
  • contrary to
  • counter to
  • crude
  • despite
  • even after
  • even though
  • even with
  • heedless of
  • imperfect
  • in contempt of
  • in contrast with
  • in defiance of
  • in opposition to
  • in spite of
  • in the contrary case
  • in the face of
  • in the teeth of
  • incomplete
  • indirect
  • irrespective of
  • no matter
  • notwithstanding
  • on the contrary
  • ongoing
  • outside
  • past
  • regardless of
  • rough
  • stopping
  • uncompleted
  • undeterred by
  • undone
  • unfinished
  • unrefined
  • with
  • without being affected by

Conclusion

Depending on the sentence, the word through can be an adjective, adverb, or preposition. Through can mean by way of, finished, or in one end and out the other. Through is a very common word in English

Sources:

  1. Through synonyms – 1 095 Words and Phrases for Through | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Through antonyms – 161 Opposites of Through | Power Thesaurus
  3. Through Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
  4. Through | Nice Translator