penetrated

8 definitions • 10 examples

past simple and past participle of

to move into or through something:

Amazingly, the bullet did not penetrate his brain.

In a normal winter, the frost penetrates deeply enough to kill off insect eggs in the soil.

to succeed in becoming part of an organization, etc. and working within it :

The organization had been penetrated by a spy.

The company has been successful in penetrating overseas markets this year (= it has started selling its products in them).

in sport to move the ball through an opponent's defence:

The Australians seemed able to penetrate the South African defence at will.

They contained the opposition for long periods but were unable to penetrate.

to reach or affect something:

These changes had not yet penetrated as far west as the mountains of Merioneth.

If your eyes penetrate somewhere dark, you manage to see through it:

Our eyes couldn't penetrate the dark/the gloom of the inner cave.

When a person penetrates someone as a sexual act, they put their penis or another object into another person's body.

to study or investigate something in order to understand it:

It's hard to penetrate her mind.

He penetrates deeper into the artist's life in the second volume of his autobiography.