Throughout

How to spell throughout

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce throughout

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does throughout mean?

1. prepositionIn every part of a place, or during the whole of a period of time.
2. adverbIn every part, or for the entire duration, with no specific object stated.

Throughout in a sentence

• preposition

  The new policy applies throughout the company.

• adverb

  The house had been freshly painted throughout.

• preposition

  She remained calm throughout the long negotiation.

• adverb

  The audience stayed seated and attentive throughout.

Where does throughout come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Throughout is a native English word, formed in Old English as thurhut, a compound of thurh, meaning 'through', and ut, meaning 'out'. The two everyday words were welded together to express the idea of passing completely through something or extending across the whole of it. The 'through' element is the same Germanic root that gives us the modern preposition through, and it has carried its awkward, silent 'gh' spelling along for the ride; that 'ough' cluster is precisely what makes the word a spelling trap, since nothing in its pronunciation hints at those four letters. By Middle English the spelling had drifted through forms such as thurghout before settling into the modern shape. The word has meant 'in every part' and 'during the whole period' since its earliest recorded uses, so its sense has stayed remarkably stable for over a thousand years.

How the word is built

• through (from Old English thurh: through)
• out (from Old English ut: out)