Thorough Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 · including every possible part or detail a thorough investigation/search a thorough [=complete] examination a thorough understanding of the rules and ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut thorough adjective SaveWord thor·​ough |\ˈthər-(ˌ)ō ,sometimesˈthȯr-;ˈthə-(ˌ)rō\ EssentialMeaningofthorough 1 :includingeverypossiblepartordetail athoroughinvestigation/searchathorough[=complete]examinationathoroughunderstandingoftherulesandregulations 2 :carefulaboutdoingsomethinginanaccurateandexactway:meticulous athoroughworkerTheinvestigatorwillhavetobethorough. 3 chieflyBritish :completeorabsolute athoroughdisgraceathoroughmess/nuisance FullDefinitionofthorough (Entry1of3) 1 :carriedthroughtocompletion:exhaustive athoroughsearch 2a :markedbyfulldetail athoroughdescription b :carefulaboutdetail:painstaking athoroughscholar c :completeinallrespects thoroughpleasure d :havingfullmastery(asofanart) athoroughmusician thorough preposition Definitionofthorough (Entry2of3) archaic :through thorough adverb Definitionofthorough (Entry3of3) archaic :through OtherWordsfromthorough Synonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutthorough OtherWordsfromthorough Adjective thoroughness noun Synonymsforthorough Synonyms:Adjective absolute, all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chieflyBritish], bodacious [Southern&Midland], categorical (alsocategoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofthoroughinaSentence Adjective …onerealizedthatitwastherestaurant'sthoroughandevencomicFrenchnessthathadmadeitsoentirelyNewYork. —AdamGopnik,NewYorker,22Mar.2004 BrucetellsmetosquatdownandKoanisidlesup,earsflattened,tailtuckedaway,andgivesmyfaceathoroughlicking. —NicholasEvans,DailyTelegraph,26Sept.1998 ThejobwasuncharacteristicallythoroughforaRussiancontractkilling—threedifferenttypesofbulletsriddledMikho'sbody. —NewRepublic,15Dec.1997 athoroughunderstandingoftherulesandregulations Theinvestigatorwillhavetobethorough. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective Moorepromisedathoroughinvestigationoftheincidentandorderedthatacriticalincidentvideo,including911calls,radiotransmissions,bodycameraandotherfootage,bereleasedbyMonday. — NBCNews,24Dec.2021 Afterathoroughinvestigation,thesleuthsintheBidenadministrationhaveidentifiedasuspectinthesmash-and-grabshopliftingspreethathasbesiegedCaliforniaretailersandterrorizedresidentsoflate. — GerardBaker,WSJ,6Dec.2021 Onthetopshelfinabasementstorageclosetweresevencardboardboxes:atimecapsuleofthethoroughinvestigationdonetwodecadesbefore,andintheyearsfollowing. — BrynnGingras,CNN,4Dec.2021 Thetopicisofextraordinaryimportanceanddeservesathorough,carefulinvestigation,aidedbygovernmenttransparencyandexplanationofthescienceinvolved. — WashingtonPost,14Nov.2021 Butathorough,independentinvestigationneverhappened. — NewYorkTimes,13Nov.2021 Thestaygivesthecourttimetoconsiderargumentsinaclashbetweentheformerpresident,whosesupportersstormedtheCapitolonJan.6,andPresidentJoeBidenandCongress,whohavepushedforathoroughinvestigationoftheriot. — CompiledDemocrat-gazetteStaffFromWireReports,ArkansasOnline,12Nov.2021 Thestaygivesthecourttimetoconsiderargumentsinamomentousclashbetweentheformerpresident,whosesupportersstormedtheCapitolonJan.6,andPresidentJoeBidenandCongress,whohavepushedforathoroughinvestigationoftheriot. — Time,12Nov.2021 Followingathoroughinvestigation,Mr.Corn’semploymentwithABCNewsended. — BrianSteinberg,Variety,22Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'thorough.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofthorough Adjective 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Preposition beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedaboveAdverb beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedabove HistoryandEtymologyforthorough Preposition,Adjective,andAdverb MiddleEnglishthorow,fromOldEnglishthurh,thuruh,preposition&adverb LearnMoreAboutthorough Sharethorough PosttheDefinitionofthoroughtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofthoroughonTwitter TimeTravelerforthorough Thefirstknownuseofthoroughwas beforethe12thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearthorough thorogummite thorough thorough-band SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforthorough LastUpdated 26Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Thorough.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorough.Accessed2Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforthorough thorough adjective thor·​ough |\ˈthər-ō \ KidsDefinitionofthorough 1 :beingsuchtothefullestdegree:complete athoroughsearch 2 :carefulaboutlittlethings athoroughworker OtherWordsfromthorough thoroughly adverb thoroughness noun MorefromMerriam-Websteronthorough Nglish:TranslationofthoroughforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofthoroughforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY captious SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? accomodate acommadate accommodate acommodate Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases PartySynonyms:WordsforFestiveGatherings Frombeanfeaststowingdings Activevs.PassiveVoice:What'sTheDifference? It’scutanddrieduntilit’snot. 8WordsfortheWordyandTalkingTooMuch Youcan'tshutthemup,butyoucanlabelthem AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NaughtyorNice Aquizofvicesandvirtues Takethequiz HolidayPartyQuiz Agiftinquestionform Takethequiz HowStrongIsYourVocabulary? Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! Takethequiz