Meaning & use
went through
Last updated
“went through” is a form of “go through”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
Experienced or lived through something hard, painful or lengthy.
Grammar: The past tense of go through, with an object: she went through a divorce.
Patterns
- went through something
- went through a lot
She went through a long illness before she recovered.
They went through a lot together during the war.
He went through years of training to become a pilot.
phrasephrasal verb
Examined or searched carefully, item by item.
Grammar: Takes an object: they went through the files.
Patterns
- went through something
The accountant went through the receipts one by one.
Police went through the suspect's bag.
She went through her closet and gave away old clothes.
phrasephrasal verb
Passed from one side of something to another, or was approved and completed.
Grammar: Can be used with or without an object: the plan went through.
Patterns
- went through something
- something went through
The train went through a long tunnel under the mountain.
The sale went through last Friday.
The new law finally went through Parliament.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes through |
|---|---|
| past tense | went through |
| past participle | gone through |
| -ing form | going through |
Common combinations
- went through a lot
- He went through a lot to become a citizen.
- went through the motions
- She went through the motions at work after the news.
- went through a phase
- My son went through a phase of loving dinosaurs.
- went through the roof
- Prices went through the roof after the storm.
- went through customs
- We went through customs in under ten minutes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- experienced
- Experienced is a plain word for having something happen to you, while went through suggests difficulty or endurance.
- endured
- Endured stresses suffering patiently over time and sounds more formal than went through.
- underwent
- Underwent is formal and often used for medical treatment, whereas went through is conversational.
- searched
- Searched focuses on looking for something specific, whereas went through can mean reading everything.
Opposites
Word family
- go through phrase
- the base form
- going through phrase
- the -ing form
- gone through phrase
- the past participle
- walk-through noun
- a step-by-step guide or practice run
- breakthrough noun
- an important advance
Commonly confused: went through or gone through? went through or threw?
went through vs gone through
Gone through needs a helper verb, as in has gone through, while went through stands alone as the simple past.
went through vs threw
Threw is the past tense of throw and sounds like through, but it is a different word.
Practice
Yesterday I ___ all my old emails to find the receipt.
Choose one answer.
Yesterday needs the simple past, which is went through. Gone through needs a helper such as had, which is missing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “went through”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.