thorough
adjective
What thorough means
Done carefully and completely, with attention to every detail.
The police carried out a thorough search of the house.
She’s very thorough, so she rarely makes mistakes.
Test yourself
Five questions about thorough
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does thorough mean?
Thorough work leaves nothing out: you check every part carefully, not just the main points, so very little is missed.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
Before signing the contract, Ana reads every line twice and checks every number. She is very…
Checking every line and every number shows great care and attention to detail, so she is thorough. Punctual is about time, and spontaneous means acting without a plan.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
The mechanic did a very ___ job: he checked every part of the car and found three small problems.
Checking every part of the car and finding even small problems is careful, complete work, which is what thorough means. Superficial means the opposite.
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Question 4 of 5Opposite
Which word is the opposite of thorough?
Thorough work is done with great care, while careless work is done quickly without enough attention. Careful, detailed and complete all mean something close to thorough.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses thorough correctly?
Thorough is an adjective, so it needs a noun after it, as in a thorough check. To describe a verb, use the adverb thoroughly, and thorough is never a verb.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Thorough in a sentence
5 more examples of thorough in everyday situations.
- At work
Thanks for the thorough report; it answered all my questions.
- At the doctor’s
The doctor gave me a thorough checkup before the surgery.
- Cleaning
We gave the apartment a thorough cleaning before we moved out.
- As an adverb
Read the contract thoroughly before you sign anything.
- In the news
The airline promised a thorough investigation into the accident.
How to use thorough
Don’t mix up thorough, through, though and thought. Thorough has two syllables: THUR-oh in American English, THUH-ruh in British English.
The adverb thoroughly often just means completely: “I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Forms
- thoroughlyadverb
- thoroughnessnoun
- more thoroughcomparative
- most thoroughsuperlative
Patterns
- a thorough check / search / investigation
- be thorough in something
- do something thoroughly
- thoroughly enjoy something
Common mistakes with thorough
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NotWe did a through check.
SayWe did a thorough check.
Through is a preposition (walk through the door). Thorough is the adjective.
Thorough or through or careful?
- thorough or through
- Through is a preposition, as in walk through the park; thorough is an adjective meaning careful and complete. They look similar but are spelled and pronounced differently.
- thorough or careful
- Careful means you avoid mistakes or danger; thorough adds the idea that you check everything, from start to finish, without missing any part.
Thorough is a B2 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Thorough word family and collocations
The words that go with thorough, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- a thorough check
- a thorough search
- a thorough investigation
- thoroughly enjoy
- thoroughly clean
Word family
- thorough (adjective)
- thoroughly (adverb)
- thoroughness (noun)
Similar words
- careful
- detailed
- complete
Opposites
- careless
- superficial
Questions about thorough
How do you pronounce thorough?
In US English it sounds like THUR-oh, with the stress on the first syllable. The final gh is silent, and it does not rhyme with through.
Thorough or through?
Use thorough for careful and complete work, as in a thorough search. Use through for movement or time, as in go through the door or work through the night.
What does thoroughly enjoy mean?
It means to enjoy something very much. Here thoroughly works like completely or really, as in I thoroughly enjoyed the concert.
The word before
Do you still remember tolerate?
One question about the word from 20 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does tolerate mean?
If you tolerate something, you let it continue even though it annoys you, and you do not complain or try to stop it.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
More work words
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bottleneck
A point in a process where work slows down because too much has to pass through one narrow place. -
B2
postpone
To move an event or a task to a later time than planned. -
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onboarding
The process of helping a new employee or customer get started, with introductions, training and information. -
B2
brainstorm
To think of many ideas quickly, often in a group, before you decide which ones are good. -
B2
feedback
Comments about someone’s work or actions that tell them what was good and what could be better. -
C1
reimburse
To pay someone back money that they spent for you.