May 26, 2011 - Word of the Day: through

An online student who works at a restaurant emailed me because he often hears this question asked at the place where he works:

Are you through?

(Are you finished with your food?)

There are many different meanings and uses for this word, but in this case, "through" is similar to "done" or "finished." Look at the sentences below:

through

• She's through eating.
• He gets through with work at 10:00 p.m.
• The day is finally through.
• Their marriage is through.
• I'm through being nice to you!

You can also use this word when studying English on this website:

• I'm through with this exercise.
• This was an easy lesson to get through.
• Are you through with the Blue Level yet?