penetrate
penetrate — verb
1. to get inside a material, surface, or space by passing through it
to get inside a material, surface, or space by passing through it
Rainwater penetrated the cracked roof during the night storm.
penetrate + object
The knife failed to penetrate the thick plastic box.
Cold air penetrated deep into the cave after sunset.
penetrate deep into + place
A small bullet penetrated his jacket but missed his skin.
- penetrate the skin
- penetrate the wall
- penetrate the surface
- penetrate deep into
- pierce
usually suggests a sharp point or strong force making the opening
- go through
is the plain everyday choice and is less formal
- permeate
often means spreading through the whole thing, not just entering it
- bounce off
suggests hitting a surface and not getting through it
- be blocked by
is the broad opposite when entry is stopped
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + surface/material
penetrate deep into + place
be penetrated by + object
Usage Note
Often used for liquids, bullets, cold, roots, or tools moving through a surface or layer. The object is usually something that resists entry, such as skin, cloth, rock, or a wall.
Common Mistakes
2. to win a place inside a guarded group, system, or market and become active there
to win a place inside a guarded group, system, or market and become active there
Local brands struggled to penetrate the Japanese cosmetics market.
penetrate + market
Police said one agent had penetrated the gang years earlier.
common in spying context
Small coffee brands rarely penetrate supermarket chains in Seoul.
By spring, the union had penetrated the nursing staff at three private hospitals.
- penetrate the market
- penetrate a network
- penetrate the gang
- penetrate overseas markets
- enter
is broader and does not always suggest difficulty or resistance
- break into
sounds more forceful and can suggest something illegal
- infiltrate
usually implies secret or hostile entry rather than normal business expansion
- be shut out
suggests outside forces prevent entry
- fail to enter
is the plain opposite when access is not gained
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + market
penetrate + organization/group
be penetrated by + spy/agent
Usage Note
Common with market, organization, network, and gang. Passive use often suggests secret entry for spying or influence.
Common Mistakes
3. to spread into a place or part and begin changing or influencing it
to spread into a place or part and begin changing or influencing it
Cheap smartphones finally penetrated remote mountain villages last year.
ideas or products penetrate a place
The smell of smoke penetrated every room in the house.
penetrate every + noun
Online slang has penetrated lunch talk at many junior high schools.
Within months, the new tax rules had penetrated rice-farming villages across Tainan.
- penetrate every room
- penetrate the community
- penetrate remote areas
- slowly penetrate
- spread into
is the plain explanation without the idea of crossing a boundary
- reach
is broader and weaker because it does not always imply inner effect
- filter into
suggests a slow and gradual movement into a group or place
- stay outside
means the influence never gets in
- fail to reach
is the broad opposite when contact never happens
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + place/group
penetrate every + noun
penetrate as far as + place
Usage Note
Subject is often an idea, smell, technology, or rule rather than a person. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about gaining a position inside a group or market.
Common Mistakes
4. during sex, to enter someone's vagina or anus using a penis, finger, or other ob
during sex, to enter someone's vagina or anus using a penis, finger, or other object
In class, the nurse explained when the penis penetrates the vagina.
sex-education context
The report said the attacker penetrated the victim with a bottle.
legal reporting pattern
In the lesson, students learned that fingers can also penetrate the anus.
The clinic leaflet says HIV can spread when one partner penetrates another without a condom.
- penetrate the vagina
- penetrate the anus
- penetrate another person
- penetrate with an object
- enter
is the more general clinical verb and is less specific than this legal term
- have intercourse with
is more formal and can describe the whole sexual act, not only this part of it
- violate
adds a strong idea of harm or crime and is not neutral
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + person
penetrate + person + with + object
one partner penetrates another
Usage Note
Common in legal, medical, and sex-education contexts. The object is usually the person entered, while the instrument may appear in a with-phrase.
Common Mistakes
5. to examine a hidden or difficult matter until you understand what is really ther
to examine a hidden or difficult matter until you understand what is really there
The book penetrates the reasons many fishing families stay poor.
penetrate + causes/problem
Few reporters could penetrate the mayor's vague answer at Monday's press meeting.
Her questions penetrated the real reason for the train's sudden delay.
Years later, the study still helps readers penetrate politics in small fishing villages.
study or person as subject
- penetrate the mystery
- penetrate the reasons
- penetrate someone's mind
- penetrate the truth
- understand
is broader and does not imply effort to uncover something hidden
- grasp
often suggests reaching understanding more quickly
- uncover
stresses finding what was hidden rather than understanding it in depth
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + mystery/reason/problem
penetrate + someone's mind
penetrate into + subject
Usage Note
Object is often a mind, motive, reason, or complicated issue. Distinguish from sense 8, where the idea reaches the understander instead of the understander examining it.
Common Mistakes
6. to reach someone's mind or feelings so that they fully understand or feel it
to reach someone's mind or feelings so that they fully understand or feel it
At last, the danger of the fire penetrated the sleepy crowd.
fact or warning as subject
Only after the funeral did her father's silence finally penetrate.
The warning never penetrated, and the boys swam out too far.
intransitive: the warning penetrated
By evening, the letter's sadness had penetrated everyone in the kitchen.
- the truth penetrated
- the warning penetrated
- finally penetrate
- never penetrate
- go unnoticed
means the meaning or feeling never reaches the person
- leave someone cold
means it fails to affect the feelings
Grammar Patterns
the truth/warning penetrates
penetrate after + event/time
never fully penetrate
Usage Note
Often used with facts, warnings, grief, or silence as the subject. Distinguish from sense 7, where a person or study actively works to understand something.
Common Mistakes
7. in sport, to get the ball past defenders into the dangerous area
in sport, to get the ball past defenders into the dangerous area
With one quick pass, Lina penetrated the back line.
sport: penetrate + defence line
The striker could not penetrate the crowded middle of the defence.
Late in the match, Japan penetrated down the right with a quick pass.
intransitive sports use
A short pass let the home team penetrate the defence near goal.
- penetrate the defence
- penetrate the back line
- penetrate on the right
- fail to penetrate
- break through
stresses overcoming a defensive barrier
- get past
is a more informal sports description
- cut through
often suggests a sharp run or pass through a narrow gap
- be held up
means the attack is stopped before getting through
- lose possession
means the team fails to continue the attack
Grammar Patterns
penetrate + defence
penetrate on the left/right
fail to penetrate
Usage Note
Almost always about attacking play in football, basketball, or similar team sports. Distinguish from sense 1, which is literal movement through a material object.
Common Mistakes
8. to let sight reach into fog, smoke, or darkness and notice what is there
to let sight reach into fog, smoke, or darkness and notice what is there
At first, Maya's eyes could not penetrate the cellar gloom.
eyes penetrate + darkness
After a minute, our eyes penetrated the smoke enough to spot Ken.
No camera lens could penetrate the smoke in the burning warehouse.
lens as subject
From the boat, Diego tried to penetrate the fog toward the harbor lights.
- penetrate the gloom
- penetrate the fog
- eyes penetrate
- camera cannot penetrate
- see through
is the broad everyday phrase for being able to look through something
- make out
stresses barely managing to see shapes or details
- peer into
focuses more on the attempt than on successful seeing
- be blinded by
means vision is stopped by light, smoke, or some other condition
- fail to see through
is the plain opposite when the view remains blocked
Grammar Patterns
eyes penetrate + darkness/fog/gloom
lens penetrate + smoke/fog
Usage Note
Usually used with eyes, light, or a camera lens and with objects such as fog, smoke, darkness, or gloom. It describes successful seeing, not physical movement as in sense 1.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- penetrationnounC1
- penetratingadjectiveC2
- penetrativeadjectiveC2
- impenetrableadjectiveC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
For the basic physical sense, penetrate suggests getting through an outer layer and into the inside of something, often against resistance. Pierce is stronger and sharper: a needle pierces skin, or a scream pierces the silence. Enter is broader and simpler, and it does not always imply any barrier. Permeate usually means spreading through the whole thing, as smell or water does. Infiltrate is different again: it often means secret entry into a group or system, so it fits sense 2 more than sense 1. Compare these: 'Rain penetrated the roof' focuses on getting through the surface, while 'Smoke permeated the room' suggests the whole room became full of it.
Common collocations
Etymology
Penetrate comes from a Latin verb meaning to go far inside. The old Latin root penitus meant 'deep within', which helps explain why penetrate often carries the idea of crossing an outer layer and reaching the inside.