to pierce through
3
4.4
- phrasal verb
- /pɪrs θru/
:
atravesar
- The sound of the end-of-the-period bell pierces through the band's playing, creating a startling, jarring dissonance with the notes of the piece.
- pierced through the clouds
- pierced through the clouds
- pierced through his flesh
It is the recognition that the days are difficult, that the times are dark, and yet there's a light that pierces through, that breaks through.
- It is the recognition that the days are difficult, that the times are dark, and yet there's a light that pierces through, that breaks through.
- First of all, there was no place on earth that we could be filming and not somehow hear one of those in the distance like it pierces through everything.
Examples
-
He used a drill to pierce through the metal sheet.
-
Blood welled out from where the gyrfalcon's talons had pierced through the cloth to my skin.
Fiction book (1993) -
Think this can pierce through bone?
-
Two long teeth pierced through the upper lip.
Fiction book (1993) -
A woman's screams pierce through the noise of the crowd.
Fiction book (2000) -
Sunlight pierces through the clouds.
Fiction book (1995) -
An arrow pierces through Peter's chest, fired from the prison wall.
Fiction book (1991) -
It is the recognition that the days are difficult, that the times are dark, and yet there's a light that pierces through, that breaks through.
-
Rays of light from the midmorning sun pierce through the gloom from the starboard set of pipes.
Academic text (1991) -
As soon as the deafening sound pierces through the receiver, Connor instinctively jumps up to a standing position.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
175
4.1
Move through something with effort, for example thick curtains or a jungle
136
1.8
To make a hole in paper or leather with a small tool
110
3.5
To make a hole in something with a sharp object like a needle
51
3.0
To go straight across a place, for example through land or a crowd
50
3.9
To make a small hole in something with a sharp object that lets air or liquid escape
49
3.8
To move through something from one side to the other
43
3.7
To move suddenly through a barrier, as light or a person
12
6.1
Make a hole through something by piercing it
6
6.4
To make an opening in something by cutting or piercing
4
3.8
To break through soil or skin when new growth appears
3
4.2
Move a sharp object into something to cut it
Antonyms
How Deep
- Offensive
26
7.7
3
4.4
175
4.1
50
3.9
7
5.0
4
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to penetrate completely' is directly and transparently predictable from combining 'pierce' (to cut or penetrate) with 'through' (from one side to the other). This compositional verb + preposition pattern is common and follows straightforward English semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
The verb pierce through gives a clear picture: pierce means to push a sharp point in and make a hole, and through shows going all the way from one side to the other. So it came to mean 'to go into or move all the way through something, often by making a hole'.