Thru vs. through! With so many similar and easily confused words in the English language, it’s no wonder that writers are constantly under a lot of stress. This is especially common in formal writing: some words simply have different meanings, while some mean the same thing but only one can be used in formal speech. One example is the pair thru vs. through. Though these two words are interchangeable, you’d only see or use one of them in an essay or a research paper.
Thru vs. Through
Both words can be used as adjectives, adverbs, or prepositions, but THROUGH is a preferred spelling in
ndard English, while THRU is a spelling that is only acceptable in informal American English speech.
There are many ways how these words can be used in a sentence. For example, you can see your parents walking up to your front door through or thru the window. After that, your parents will open the door and walk through or thru it. Finally, when you’re describing someone the directions to a restaurant or a bar, you might tell them not to enter a certain street because this isn’t a through or thru street.
In writing, however, it is almost always preferred to use through. The uses of thru are very limited. For instance, you can often see signs near restaurants that say “drive-thru“, not “drive-through“. You also might come across traffic signs that say “no thru traffic”.
In all the other circumstances, you should prefer the longer spelling that is through. You can memorize it by thinking about it this way: there’s an “o” in through that stands for the fact that this is the official spelling of the word. This way, you’ll never get this pair confused again.
Thru vs. Through Examples
- We’ll be in New York Tuesday thru Friday.
- The reason is driven by a belt connected thru a pulley.
- Air can circulate freely through the tunnels.
- The burglar got into the house through the bedroom window.
- I can hear voices through the wall.
- You need a powerful saw to cut through metal.
- The hamster had got through the wire at the front of its cage.
- The lion stalked its prey through the long grass.
- The children squeezed through a gap in the wall.
- Sounds of cheering filtered in through the closed window.
Difference between Through vs. Thru | Picture
How to Use Thru vs. Through Correctly?
Last Updated on March 16, 2021