“Throughout”: Sentence Examples and Usage

Throughout means “in every part of” a place or “during the whole of” a period of time: It rained throughout the night (the whole night, without a break); The song is popular throughout Latin America (in every part of it). It is mainly a preposition, followed by a noun, but it can also end a sentence as an adverb: The house was painted white throughout.

Use it when you want to stress “all of it, from start to finish” or “everywhere in it”. If you only mean that something happened at some point within a period, during or in is the better word. Below are example sentences grouped by meaning, the difference from during and through, and the punctuation rule for starting a sentence with “throughout”.

Quick test: is “throughout” the right word?

Replace it with “all through” or “in every part of”. If the sentence still means what you want, throughout fits.

• She was nervous throughout the interview. = all through the interview. Correct.
• I got a phone call throughout the meeting. = all through the meeting? No, it happened once. Use during.

1. Throughout a period of time

Here throughout means “from the beginning to the end” and stresses that the action or state did not stop.

• The baby cried throughout the flight.
• The museum is open throughout the year.
• He stayed calm throughout the crisis.
• Throughout her career, she has worked with young writers.
• The shop will be closed throughout August.
• Prices rose steadily throughout the 1970s.
• Take small sips of water throughout the day.
• The audience laughed throughout the show.
• Throughout history, people have told stories about the moon.
• The team played well throughout the season.

Common time nouns after it: the day, the night, the week, the year, the summer, the meeting, the film, the war, his life, her childhood, the process.

2. Throughout a place

Here it means “in every part of” an area or space.

• The festival is celebrated throughout Spain.
• The virus spread quickly throughout the city.
• There are cameras throughout the building.
• The smell of coffee drifted throughout the house.
• Her books are sold throughout the world.
• The company has offices throughout Europe.
• Free wifi is available throughout the hotel.
• Snow fell throughout the region on Monday.

“Throughout the world” and “all over the world” mean the same; “all over” is more conversational, “throughout” more formal or written.

3. Throughout a text, a group or a process

The “every part” meaning extends to things that are not places: a book, a document, a group of people, a body.

• The same mistake appears throughout the report.
• The theme of loss runs throughout the novel.
• Use the same font throughout your essay.
• The news caused anger throughout the community.
• The infection had spread throughout his body.
• Support for the plan was strong throughout the party.

4. Throughout as an adverb

At the end of a sentence, with no noun after it, throughout works as an adverb meaning “in every part” or “the whole time”. This use is common in descriptions of houses and in reports.

• The flat has wooden floors throughout.
• The hotel has been renovated throughout.
• The match was exciting, and the crowd sang throughout.
• She remained silent throughout.

More example sentences by context

Work and business

• Please keep your phone on silent throughout the meeting.
• Sales remained strong throughout the third quarter.
• The manager kept us informed throughout the project.

School and academic writing

• Cite your sources consistently throughout the paper.
• Throughout the experiment, the temperature was kept at 20°C.
• Students may ask questions throughout the lecture.

Health and everyday life

• Drink water throughout the day, not only when you feel thirsty.
• The pain got worse throughout the evening.
• My grandmother stayed active throughout her eighties.
• The lights stayed on throughout the storm.

Throughout vs during vs through

The key difference: during can describe one moment inside a period (He fell asleep during the film); throughout cannot (He fell asleep throughout the film is wrong – falling asleep happens once). See sentences with “during” for that word’s uses.

Through describes movement from one side to another (walk through the park) and in American English an end point (open Monday through Friday). Throughout does not express movement across: We walked throughout the park means you walked around every part of it, not that you crossed it.

Can you start a sentence with “throughout”?

Yes. It is common and correct, especially in writing. When the “throughout” phrase opens the sentence, a comma usually follows it:

• Throughout the summer, we swam in the lake every day.
• Throughout his life, he kept a diary.
• Throughout the book, the author returns to the same question.

With a very short phrase the comma is sometimes dropped (Throughout May it rained), but keeping it is never wrong. If you want a different opener with the same meaning, try All through, For the whole of, Across (for places) or Over the course of (for time).

Common mistakes

• Using it for a single event: The phone rang throughout dinner suggests it rang non-stop. If it rang once, say during dinner.
• Adding “of”: throughout of the year is wrong. Say throughout the year.
• Doubling with “all”: throughout all the day is redundant. Use throughout the day or all day.
• Splitting it: it is one word. Through out the night is a misspelling.
• Using it for crossing: The train goes throughout the tunnel should be through the tunnel.
• Overusing it in essays: in academic writing “throughout this essay” is fine once; repeated, it becomes filler.

Synonyms

• For time: all through, for the whole of, from start to finish, for the duration of, all along (adverb).
• For place: all over, everywhere in, across, right through.

Example rewrites: He smiled throughout the ceremony → He smiled all through the ceremony. The brand is known throughout Asia → The brand is known across Asia.

Practice

Choose throughout, during or through.

1. The children were quiet ___ the whole performance.
2. Someone’s phone rang ___ the performance.
3. We drove ___ the forest to reach the village.
4. The restaurant chain has branches ___ the country.
5. I met my husband ___ a trip to Peru.
6. The kitchen has tiled floors ___.

Answers: 1. throughout. 2. during (one event). 3. through (movement across). 4. throughout. 5. during. 6. throughout (adverb).

Quick answers

What part of speech is “throughout”?

Usually a preposition (throughout the year); at the end of a sentence with no object it is an adverb (carpeted throughout).

Is “throughout” formal?

It is neutral to slightly formal. In conversation people often say all through or all over instead.

What is the difference between “throughout” and “across”?

For places they are close: throughout the country and across the country both mean “in many or all parts of it”. Across also means “from one side to the other” (swim across the river), which throughout never does. For time, use throughout; across the year is less common and usually means “spread over the year”.

Can “throughout” be used with a plural noun?

Yes: throughout the holidays, throughout the 1990s, throughout the negotiations.

Related prepositions: within, around, and the full list in 100 examples of preposition sentences.