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walk-through
walk-throughnoun
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walk through
walk throughverb(tr) to act or recite (a part) in a perfunctory manner, as at a first rehearsal
walk-through
Americannoun
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Theater, Television.
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a rehearsal in which physical action is combined with reading the lines of a play.
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a perfunctory performance of a script.
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Television, Movies. a rehearsal without cameras.
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a step-by-step demonstration of a procedure or process or a step-by-step explanation of it as a novice attempts it.
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a pedestrian passageway or arcade through the ground floor of a building connecting one street or building with another.
adjective
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designed to be walked through by an observer.
The zoo has a walk-through aviary where the birds are all around you.
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activated by a person passing through.
a walk-through electronic scanner at the airport for detecting concealed weapons.
verb
noun
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Perform in a perfunctory fashion, as in She was just walking through her job, hoping to quit very soon . This idiom originally referred to practicing parts in a play at an early rehearsal. It was applied more broadly from the late 1800s. Also see go through the motions .
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walk someone through . Instruct someone carefully, one step at a time, as in He was very helpful, walking me through all the steps in this complex computer program .
Etymology
Origin of walk-through
First recorded in 1935–40; noun, adj. use of verb phrase walk through
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As we leave the coffee shop and walk through Bed-Stuy, I think of an old Rodgers and Hart song.
From Salon • May 15, 2026
"When I look at the photographs, I see the moments Ara Guler captured -- sailors arriving on boats. He would walk through the streets and beaches of Cannes, observe what was happening."
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
Let’s walk through some questions to help you think mathematically about maximizing returns, even if you still choose to trust your gut at the end of the day.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
There was an audible buzz when a cluster of people were about to walk through, but then a sense of immediate deflation when it turned out merely to be John Thune or Chuck Schumer.
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
She was about to walk through when the raksha raised a hand.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.