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drill through

B1 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

Make a hole all the way through something using a drill, or keep going through something until you're done.

Literal meaning: To use a drill and go all the way through something.

Meanings

1 B1 neutral

To make a hole that passes completely through a material using a drill or similar tool.

"The engineer drilled through the concrete wall to run the new pipes."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To work through a large amount of material, data, or tasks in a thorough and systematic way.

"It took the analysts two days to drill through all the quarterly sales figures."

Grammar: inseparable
3 C1 idiomatic neutral

To penetrate or cut through something with focused effort or intensity (of sound, gaze, or feeling).

"The cold wind drilled through his thin jacket as he waited at the bus stop."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Used both literally (physical drilling) and figuratively (working through data, material, problems). The figurative sense is common in business and academic contexts.

Commonly used with

wall data rock material layer report

Forms

Base
drill through
I/you/we/they
3rd person
drills through
he/she/it
Past simple
drilled through
yesterday
Past participle
drilled through
have + pp
-ing form
drilling through
continuous

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Synonyms

bore through pierce penetrate work through go through cut through

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