{
    "term": "penetrate",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "penetrate",
            "heSheIt": "penetrates"
        },
        "pastSimple": "penetrated",
        "pastParticiple": "penetrated",
        "ingForm": "penetrating"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to go into or through something",
            "sensetop": "penetrate somethingpenetrate into/through/to something",
            "labels": "(figurative)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The knife had penetrated his chest.",
                    "contextForm": "penetrate something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The sun's radiation penetrates the skin."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The cold seemed to penetrate his bones."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The war penetrates every area of the nation's life."
                },
                {
                    "text": "These fine particles penetrate deep into the lungs.",
                    "contextForm": "penetrate into/through/to something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "narrow alleys where the sun never penetrates"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It is not yet known how deeply the radiation has penetrated into the soil."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The dust had penetrated to all corners of the room."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The light could not penetrate through the thick curtains."
                },
                {
                    "text": "caves penetrating deep into the hills"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
                "verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
                "preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to succeed in entering or joining an organization, a group, etc. especially when this is difficult to do",
            "sensetop": "penetrate somethingpenetrate into something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They had penetrated airport security.",
                    "contextForm": "penetrate something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The party has been penetrated by extremists."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This year the company has been trying to penetrate new markets *(= to start selling their products there)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "These so-called secret societies were easily penetrated by intelligence agents."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The troops had penetrated deep into enemy lines.",
                    "contextForm": "penetrate into something"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
                "verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
                "preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to see or show a way into or through something",
            "sensetop": "penetrate something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Our eyes could not penetrate the darkness."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The flashlights barely penetrated the gloom."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The sunlight barely penetrated the inner room."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
                "verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
                "preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to understand or discover something that is difficult to understand or is hidden",
            "sensetop": "penetrate something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Science can penetrate many of nature's mysteries."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a style that is difficult to penetrate"
                },
                {
                    "text": "No one could penetrate the meaning of the inscription."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
                "verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
                "preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to be understood or realized by somebody",
            "sensetop": "penetrate something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I was at the door before his words penetrated."
                },
                {
                    "text": "None of my advice seems to have penetrated his thick skull *(= he has not listened to any of it)*.",
                    "contextForm": "penetrate something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The news slowly penetrated his consciousness."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["deep", "deeply", "far"],
                "verb + penetrate": ["be able to", "can", "be difficult to"],
                "preposition": ["into", "through", "to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to put the penis into the vagina or anus of a sexual partner",
            "sensetop": "penetrate somebody/something",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪt/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrate__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪts/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrates__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪd/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrated__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrating__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪt/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrate__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪts/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrates__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪd/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrated__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈpenətreɪtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "pe/penetrate/penetrating__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "mid 16th cent.: from Latin penetrat- ‘placed or gone into’, from the verb penetrare; related to penitus ‘inner’."
}