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# penetrate

verb (penetrate, penetrates, penetrated, penetrating)

«penetrate» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To penetrate something is to go into it or through it, often with effort: the nail penetrated the wood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#m1)
2. To penetrate a group or market is to get into it successfully. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#m2)
3. (formal) To penetrate an idea or mystery is to understand it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#m3)
4. To penetrate can also mean to reach deep inside someone's feelings, so that they are touched. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science: light penetrates water, X-rays penetrate the body, roots penetrate the soil. In stories: «her eyes could not penetrate the darkness». In geography: sunlight penetrates the rainforest floor only in places.

### Examples

- Sunlight cannot penetrate the deep ocean. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x1)
- The roots penetrated deep into the soil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x2)
- The cold penetrated through his thin coat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x3)
- X-rays penetrate skin but not bone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x4)
- The torch could not penetrate the thick fog. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x5)
- Rain penetrated the old roof. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x6)
- These pitying words penetrated to Inge's inmost heart, and seemed to do her good. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/#x7)

### Note

Noun: penetration; adjective: penetrating (a penetrating look or sound is sharp and strong). Formal; everyday: go through, get into.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «penetrate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penetrate/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«penetrate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/penetrate.html) on Mova free.