Phrase guide

through and through

adv · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Completely; entirely; fundamentally.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • He moved from Cincinnati to San Francisco, but he's still a Cincinnati Bengals fan, through and through.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A bullet wound in which the bullet passes through the body.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adverb

Meaning 3

throughout the entire extent

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • got soaked through in the rain
  • I'm frozen through
  • a letter shot through with the writer's personality
  • knew him through and through
  • boards rotten through and through

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: through

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: door en door — entirely
  • Finnish: läpikotaisin — entirely
  • Finnish: henkeen ja vereen — entirely
  • Finnish: kauttaaltaan — entirely
  • German: durch und durch — entirely
  • Ancient Greek: διαμπερές (diamperés) — entirely
  • Icelandic: í húð og hár — entirely
  • Norwegian: tvers igjennom — entirely
  • Norwegian: fra ende til annen — entirely
  • Polish: na wylot — entirely
  • Polish: na wskroś — entirely
  • Serbo-Croatian: скро̑з на̏скро̄з — entirely
  • Serbo-Croatian: skrȏz nȁskrōz — entirely
  • Spanish: a carta cabal — entirely
  • Spanish: por los cuatro costados — entirely
  • Spanish: en toda regla — entirely
  • Spanish: de los pies a la cabeza — entirely
  • Spanish: plenamente — entirely
  • Swedish: (ända) ut i fingerspetsarna — entirely
  • Swedish: alltigenom — entirely
  • Tamil: முழுக்க முழுக்க (muḻukka muḻukka) — entirely
  • Tamil: பூரா (pūrā) — entirely
  • Yiddish: דורך און דורך (durkh un durkh) — entirely