AAAmerican Accent US

look through

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: look THROUGH. Saying “LOOK through” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Do not release the /k/. Before the consonant of “through” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “look through”. Watch the TH in “through” — tongue tip between the teeth, voiceless. Swapping it for /t/ or /s/ is the usual slip.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To examine a collection item by item.

    • “I looked through all the drawers and found nothing.”
    • “She looked through the applications over the weekend.”

    Similar: go through, search

  2. 2

    To deliberately ignore someone you can see.

    • “He looked right through me at the party.”

    Similar: snub

The particle logic

through

Something passes from one end of an obstacle to the other.

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More LOOK phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

look up

To search for information in a reference source.

look for

To search for something or someone.

look after

To take care of someone or something.

look forward to

To feel pleased about something that is going to happen. Always followed by a noun or an -ING form, never an infinitive.

look up to

To admire and respect someone.

look down on

To consider someone inferior.

look into

To investigate something.

look out

To be careful — usually shouted as a warning.

look over

To examine something fairly quickly.

look back

To think about the past.

look through — meaning, examples & how to say it