Thorough
adj, name, noun, prep ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water. UK, dialectal
"The Ignorance and Idleness of the Plowman, who either goes so shallow, or plows his Thoroughs so wide, or misses Part of the Ground."
- 1 Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail.
"The Prime Minister announced a thorough investigation into the death of a father-of-two in police custody."
- 2 Utter; complete; absolute.
"Dr. Oldfield once said to me, 'You talk to me quite all right, but why is it that you never open your lips at a committee meeting? You are a drone.' I appreciated the banter. The bees are ever busy, the drone is a thorough idler."
- 1 painstakingly careful and accurate wordnet
- 2 performed comprehensively and completely; not superficial or partial wordnet
- 3 without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers wordnet
- 1 Through. archaic
"Ye might haue ſeene the frothy billowes fry Vnder the ſhip, as thorough them ſhe went […]"
- 1 A scheme devised in 17th-century England by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford to establish absolute monarchy in England, involving the appointment of Arminian clergy. historical
Example
More examples"The theory is based on thorough research."
Etymology
From Middle English thoruȝ, þoruȝ, from Old English þuruh, a byform of Old English þurh, whence comes English through. The adjective derives from the preposition and adverb. The word developed a syllabic form in cases where the word was fully stressed: when it was used as an adverb, adjective, or noun, and less commonly when used as a preposition.
Related phrases
More for "thorough"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.